A right-wing group’s lawsuit challenging Fairfax County Public Schools policies designed to be inclusive of transgender and other gender non-conforming students will be allowed to move forward.
Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Brett A. Kassabian issued an order last Friday (Dec. 6) mostly overruling an attempt by the Fairfax County School Board to dismiss the civil suit, which argues that policies requiring students to be identified and treated based on their gender identity violate the rights of students who don’t want to follow those policies.
The lawsuit was originally filed in March by America First Legal, a legal group founded by former and future Trump administration official Stephen Miller as the conservative answer to the American Civil Liberties Union.
In the complaint, Jane Doe — an unnamed female student who was then a high school senior at FCPS — alleged that she experienced discrimination based on her sex and religion because calling classmates by their “chosen” name and pronouns and sharing a bathroom with transgender girls goes against her religious beliefs as a “practicing Roman Catholic.”
Three additional plaintiffs joined the lawsuit on Sept. 13, resulting in an amended complaint that includes objections from Jane Doe to a gender-expansive student using both the boys’ and girls’ restrooms at their school.
The three added plaintiffs are all boys and students at FCPS. Their mother is identified in the complaint as Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, who frequently criticizes FCPS as a contributor to the Washington Examiner and The Federalist — both right-leaning media outlets.
Lundquist-Arora briefly ran for the county’s school board in 2022 before dropping out over a video where she reportedly laughed at an autistic student singing the national anthem.
According to the complaint, the students believe FCPS regulation 2603, which was adopted by the school board in October 2020 and directs schools to let students use names, pronouns and facilities that match their gender identity, has created a “culture of fear.”
“Because of the Petitioners’ sincerely held philosophical and religious beliefs, they do not believe in the concepts and definitions contained in Regulation 2603.2, and to endorse or accept the premise of those concepts and definitions would be to falsely act in contradiction to their beliefs, violating their constitutional rights,” the complaint said.
In his order last week, Kassabian allowed all claims that the policy on names and pronouns violates freedom of religion, free speech and due process rights to move forward. Jane Doe’s claim that she faced discrimination on the basis of sex will also proceed.
However, he upheld objections from the school board that the plaintiffs “lack standing” for their claims of religious discrimination when it comes to restroom access.
“The restroom-access policies expressly permit any student, including those with religious objections to using the common bathrooms, to use private, non-stigmatizing alternative facilities,” Noah Sullivan, the school board’s attorney, said in a court filing seeking to dismiss the lawsuit. “That not only accommodates religious objection to the restroom-access policies, but also shows the neutral, non-discriminatory intent.”
The plaintiffs were given 21 days to amend the complaint to clarify their religious discrimination claims, and the school board was given 30 days to file a response to the judge’s order.
American First Legal celebrated the order as a “landmark decision” and “major win for students in Fairfax County.” The group’s senior advisor Ian Prior said in a statement:
Policies that compel students to refer to other students by their preferred names and pronouns strike at the heart of the core fundamental rights of free speech and free exercise. Bathroom policies giving ‘transgender and gender expansive’ students the right to use any bathroom of their choice, while relegating other students to private restrooms if they are uncomfortable, constitute discrimination on the basis of sex. We look forward to moving forward in this case and continuing to fight these battles in Virginia and through America.
FCPS and the Fairfax County School Board have stood behind their policies supporting transgender and gender-expansive students, previously declining to adopt “model” policies put forward by the Virginia Department of Education that would require schools to identify students based on their sex assigned at birth.
In a statement to FFXnow, an FCPS spokesperson reiterated the school system’s commitment to supporting LGBTQ students.
FCPS remains committed to fostering a safe, supportive, welcoming, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff, including our transgender and gender expansive students and staff.
It is clear that students only learn effectively when they feel safe, supported, respected and accepted for who they are.
All students have a right to privacy in FCPS facilities or while participating in FCPS sponsored events. Any student who has a need or desire for increased privacy, regardless of the underlying reason, is provided with reasonable accommodations, including single-user facilities.
Kassabian’s order was issued just two days after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Dec. 4 in a case challenging Tennesee’s ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender youth. According to media reports, the court’s conservative majority appear poised to let the ban stay in place, despite a 2020 ruling that LGBTQ individuals are protected from discrimination under civil rights laws.
The following year, Supreme Court allowed an appeals court ruling in support of Virginia student Gavin Grimm, who sued the Gloucester County School Board for barring him from using the boys’ bathroom, to stand.
