LGBTQ

Countywide

FCPS Pride urges schools not to comply with federal anti-trans demands

By Vernon Miles
A Trans Day of Visibility rally outside a school board meeting at Luther Jackson Middle School (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

FCPS Pride is urging Northern Virginia school districts to hold their ground after the Department of Education accused the schools’ trans-inclusive policies of violating Title IX.

Last week, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) found Fairfax County Public Schools and nearby Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William and Loudoun school divisions in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The findings argue that letting students use bathrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex.

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Countywide

Education Department tells FCPS to rescind transgender-inclusive policies

By Angela Woolsey
A community member waves an LGBTQ pride flag at the rally protesting Virginia's model policies on transgender students (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The U.S. Department of Education is pushing several Northern Virginia school districts, including Fairfax County Public Schools, to roll back their policies intended to support transgender students.

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced today (Friday) that it has found FCPS and its counterparts in Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William and Loudoun in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, arguing that letting students use bathrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex.

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Around Town

LGBTQ Pride events planned around Fairfax, from trivia to parades

By Vernon Miles
An LGBTQ Pride flag at the Mosaic District in Merrifield (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Pride Month has arrived. Though this year’s Reston Pride festival has come and gone, there are still plenty of events around Fairfax County for those looking to celebrate or do some good for their community.

Pride-themed blood drive

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News

Decline in corporate sponsorship causes challenges for Reston Pride organizers

By Scott McCaffrey
Vendor tables at the 2023 Reston Pride Festival (courtesy of Jennifer Heffner Photography)

Despite a decline in corporate support, organizers of the 2025 Reston Pride Festival say they are moving forward with what is planned as the largest in the event’s history.

Set to run May 31-June 1 at Lake Anne Plaza, the event’s all-volunteer organizing committee has begun a last-minute effort to attract sponsors, after a number of those that had participated in the past opted against doing so in 2025.

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Countywide

D.C.-area leaders pledge ongoing support as WorldPride festival hits hurdles

By Scott McCaffrey
Singer Alessia performs in front of the U.S. Capitol Building at the 2018 D.C. Pride Festival (courtesy Capital Pride Alliance)

Organizers of the WorldPride 2025 celebration coming to the D.C. region on May 31 through June 8 are reevaluating their attendance expectations, especially among international participants.

Event organizers have anticipated upwards of 2 million visitors for the LGBTQ community celebration, but with foreign travel to the U.S. plunging amid reports of visitors being detained and the Trump administration barring changes to the gender marker on passports, they may not meet that figure — another potential setback for an economy already facing multiple headwinds.

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News

New McLean space helps LGBTQ organization expand its community services

By Scott McCaffrey
Opening of NoVA Prism Center in McLean (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Northern Virginia’s lone nonprofit community center for LGBTQ+ individuals marked the opening on Saturday (March 29) of a new facility designed to expand opportunities serving the region.

“We have a lot of exciting things we want to do with this space,” said NoVA Prism Center board president Sydney Mastrangelo during a ribbon-cutting ceremony to launch the expanded service center at 1340 Old Chain Bridge Road in McLean.

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News

Photos: Local LGBTQ advocates rally to celebrate Trans Day of Visibility

By Vernon Miles
A Trans Day of Visibility rally outside a school board meeting at Luther Jackson Middle School (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

A rally organized by local LGBTQ advocacy groups outside Luther Jackson Middle School in Merrifield last night (Thursday) served as both a celebration of the upcoming Transgender Day of Visibility and a call for solidarity.

During the half-hour rally, that solidarity manifested in dozens of passing vehicles honking in apparent support of the crowd, which had gathered ahead of a Fairfax County School Board meeting to support the trans community.

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Countywide

Elon Musk and Gov. Youngkin target Fairfax County over education on gender identity

By Vernon Miles
A LGBTQ pride flag sticks in a woman's hair at a 2023 rally in support of transgender students outside Luther Jackson Middle School (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Key Republican leaders have Fairfax County in their sights over a proposal that would introduce instruction on gender identity at an elementary school level.

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and a close ally of Donald Trump, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) shared a video of a parent who said they didn’t want to send their child to Fairfax County Public Schools as a result of the possible change.

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Countywide

DEVELOPING: FCPS facing federal investigation over transgender policies

By James Jarvis
A community member waves an LGBTQ pride flag at the rally protesting Virginia's model policies on transgender students (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Several Northern Virginia school districts, including Fairfax County Public Schools, are in the crosshairs of the U.S. Department of Education after a conservative legal group filed a complaint challenging their transgender-inclusive bathroom and locker room policies.

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened an investigation this week into Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun and Prince William schools in response to the complaint from America First Legal, a nonprofit founded by former Trump advisor Stephen Miller.

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Countywide

FCPS braces for fallout as VHSL moves to enforce Trump’s transgender athlete ban

By James Jarvis
Scenes from a transgender rights rally at Luther Jackson Middle School in Fairfax (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Fairfax County Public Schools is facing a legal and financial dilemma after the Virginia High School League’s (VHSL) executive committee voted to ban transgender student athletes from competing in girls’ sports.

The league, which governs public school sports and other competitions across Virginia, announced the policy change on Monday (Feb. 10) after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to withhold funding from educational and athletic institutions that let transgender girls and women to compete in female sports.

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