In the on-going struggle to ensure equal opportunity for LGBTQ youth, opponents have fought back. In Fairfax, Virginia–one of the nation's more progressive districts–the school district had adopted policies to protect gay and transgender students from discrimination and harassment. In an interesting twist, the Traditional Values Coalition and an individual student sued the school board, alleging that the board lacked the authority to create those protections. Their reasoning was very thin. Because the state of Virginia had not enacted protections for LGBTQ youth, plaintiffs reasoned that local districts were prohibited from doing so. To that they added the claim that the student plaintiff was “terrified at the thought of having to share intimate spaces with students who have the physical features of a girl, seeing such conduct as an invasion of privacy.”
Last week, the Fairfax County Circuit Court threw out the lawsuit. The Washington Post reports:
“We’re very pleased with the Circuit Court of Fairfax County’s decision today to dismiss the lawsuit brought against the School Board by Ms. Lafferty and the other plaintiffs,” said School Board Chairman Pat Hynes (Hunter Mill). “The School Board remains committed to ensuring that all of our students and employees are treated fairly and with dignity and respect.”
Lafferty, reached by phone Friday, said she planned to appeal the dismissal, but referred further comment on the matter to her lawyer. Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel, which is representing the student and Lafferty, said the judge dismissed the suit because he said his clients lacked standing.
Staver said Liberty Counsel plans to appeal the case on Monday.
The suit’s dismissal comes as school districts struggle to figure out how to accommodate transgender students. The Fourth Circuit of Appeals in Richmond, Va. recently heard an appeal from a transgender boy who was barred from using the boy’s restroom at his high school in Gloucester County, Va. The decision in that case could have national implications.
The Fairfax County School Board voted to change its nondiscrimination policy to include gay students and staff in December 2014. Six months later, the board expanded the policy to bar discrimination based on “gender identity” despite vocal opposition from Lafferty and some parents in the district.