RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia’s largest school district, Fairfax County Public Schools, has announced it won’t follow the Virginia Department of Education’s new model policies for transgender students.
It comes just weeks after Richmond Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras recommended the Richmond School Board reject the policies as well.
While state law says, “each school board shall adopt policies that are consistent with — but may be more comprehensive than — the model policies developed by the Department of Education,” it appears there is no way of enforcing the law because it doesn’t address potential punishments for districts who fail to comply.
8News reached out to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s office asking, specifically, how the policy will be enforced.
A spokesperson did not answer that question but did say, “The Fairfax County Public Schools policies diverge from VDOE model policy guidance and perpetuate a false notion that FCPS knows what’s better for a child than a child’s parent. The Fairfax County School Board is expected to follow the law.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Attorney General Jason Miyares said, “The Attorney General expects school boards to follow the law. I’d refer any other questions to the Governor’s Office.”
It’s important to note that state law does give parents a potential remedy. It gives parents the right to petition a court if they are “aggrieved by a decision” of their local school board.
