Fairfax school board approves transgender protections
Education
By
T. Rees Shapiro May 7 at 11:23 PM
@TReesShapiro
The Fairfax County School Board voted to approve expanding protections to transgender students and staff Thursday night at a rambunctious meeting that included chants, jeers and vocal opposition from hundreds of parents. ... The School Board voted 10 to 1 with one abstention to add “gender identity” to its non-discrimination policy, two months after Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) issued an opinion granting local school boards the authority to expand protections to transgender people.
The School Board voted in November to include sexual orientation in its non-discrimination policy after the Supreme Court let stand rulings that allow gay marriages in Virginia and other states. ... “The decision by the Fairfax County School Board to add ‘gender identity’ to our nondiscrimination policy is to provide an environment which promotes equality where every student and employee is treated with dignity and respect,” board Chair Tammy Derenak Kaufax (Lee) said.
School Board members acknowledged that in the days before Thursday’s vote they had received thousands e-mails from parents and others in the community.
The auditorium at Luther Jackson Middle School was filled to capacity, with about 500 people in attendance. At times, the meeting was interrupted by vocal opposition from hundreds in the audience who chanted and booed. ... Kaufax at one point hammered her gavel and threatened to clear the auditorium if audience members continued to interject. At least five Fairfax County police and school security officers were standing in the room during the meeting. Some in attendance stood to turn their backs on board members as they spoke in favor of the policy change.
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