Competing rallies outside at Luther Jackson Middle School in Merrifield yesterday (Thursday) quickly commanded attention away from Fairfax County’s first school board meeting of the new academic year.
Dozens of activists from pro-LGBTQ+ group FCPS Pride showed up to applaud the school board for supporting transgender students, while the anti-abortion organization Students for Life of America gathered to condemn Fairfax County Public Schools officials over recent allegations of employees helping students obtain abortions.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin ordered state police to investigate FCPS in response to allegations that Centreville High School staff helped two underage girls obtain abortions in 2021 without parental consent, violating Virginia law. The claims were first reported in early August by the conservative Substack newsletter WC Dispatch.
“The fact that we are two weeks on from the origin of the story and we still don’t have answers … this isn’t an allegation that seems unfounded,” Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate John Reid said. “It seems like there’s documentation behind it.”
During Reid’s brief remarks, he also railed against what he described as a continued overreach of schools into the lives of families.
“They do not want the teacher to overtake them,” Reid said of families. “They do not want the principal to overtake them and direct their children’s lives … It’s shocking to me that there still seems to be some resistance to the idea that parents are in charge of their own children and not bureaucrats.”
Reid’s remarks were echoed by Rosie Kostka, a Falls Church resident who teaches religion at a Catholic school in Loudoun County.
“No matter where one stands on the issue of abortion or education, the events in Fairfax County demand our attention and action,” Kostka said. “The allegations are serious. We insist on clarity, and strive always to place the interests of young students and families first.”
Kostka, who did not initially provide her full name, was the lone academic who provided remarks on behalf of Students for Liberty.
Across the school’s lawn, activists with FCPS Pride rallied to show support for the local LGBTQ+ community and the school district’s decision to defy the Trump administration’s demand that it scrap its policies regulating bathroom and locker usage, among other activities, based on gender identity.
In response, the Education Department directed that federal funds be withheld from FCPS and four other Northern Virginia public school systems with similar policies — a move that has now led to a lawsuit from the school board.
Those in attendance at the FCPS Pride rally touted signs proclaiming “inclusion” and “support for all” — sentiments that were regularly repeated during the board meeting’s public comment section.
“It’s more important to this administration to attack trans kids than it is to feed 66,000 vulnerable children,” FCPS parent Matthew Erwin told the board. “… Thank you FCPS for refusing to play along with this false choice. We can respect our trans and gender-expansive kids and protect our most vulnerable communities. My children, all children are not political pawns.”
According to the school board’s lawsuit, the Education Department is seeking to withhold approximately $167 million in federal funds, including $61 million to pay food services staff and provide free and reduced-price meals, and $41 million to support services for students with disabilities.
A student testified that he wants his 9-year-old transgender sister “to be safe,” while Josie Gillespie, a history teacher for FCPS, reported witnessing firsthand the “fear and anxiety” that trans students are feeling as a result of the Trump administration’s attacks on the school district’s policies.
Betsy Bella, who spoke virtually, said her kids aren’t old enough yet to attend FCPS, but she knows and cares about other transgender and nonbinary kids.
“They face enough challenges without schools enacting policies that treat them as less-than,” she said. “As the first student speaker said, it’s critical to teach respect and compassion in school … Not only is it critical to make sure transgender and gender-expansive students can safely attend school, but giving into discriminatory and illegal demands of the federal administration, it would set a dangerous precedent.”
At least five of the speakers scheduled during the public comment period spoke directly to LGBTQ+ issues within the district, outpacing the three who expressed concern with the abortion allegations and “parental rights.”
Though the auditorium quickly filled up with attendees from both rallies, most left following the conclusion of the public comment period, which ended roughly 45 minutes into the meeting.
