A court in Fairfax County, Virginia , has recognized a student's right to sue her school district over its policy requiring her to use other students' preferred pronouns and share restrooms with students who claim transgender identity.
A judge on Thursday allowed a female Fairfax County Public Schools student, who filed suit anonymously and is represented by America First Legal, to sue after the county attempted to get the case thrown out by saying the student had not alleged harm.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision recognizing that students can, in fact, challenge unconstitutional policies implemented by school boards in Virginia," AFL counsel Andrew Block said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. "We look forward to continuing to work on behalf of our client.”
The female student, filing as Jane Doe, said she was followed into the girls' restroom by a male student who identified as "gender expansive" and who regularly used both male and female restrooms, according to the complaint. Doe also said the school's student code of conduct, called the "Students Rights and Responsibilities," compels her and others to use the preferred pronouns of students who identify as something other than their biological sex.
Fairfax County's school policies can require girls to share restrooms and locker rooms with boys, saying that "gender expansive and transgender students shall be provided with the option of using a locker room or restroom consistent with the student’s gender identity." If any student is uncomfortable using a restroom with someone of the opposite sex, such as Doe, it is the responsibility of those students to find alternative private facilities to use, according to the school district's policies.
Similarly, the code of conduct states that “students who identify as gender-expansive or transgender should be called by their chosen name or pronouns, regardless of the name and gender recorded in the student’s permanent pupil record.”
Doe is challenging the FCPS policies on the basis of sex and religious discrimination, as well as being an alleged violation of her free speech rights.
According to the complaint, Doe was forced to watch a school-provided video that told her students can use whichever restrooms they want, and the school subsequently compelled her to take a test forcing her to affirm the information she had just received. Not following the protocols in the code of conduct would be met with disciplinary action.
Doe was also required to provide her own pronouns in class and was not afforded the opportunity to opt out. She has also been forced to self-censor, according to the complaint.
"Petitioner is a practicing Catholic who believes that God created each person as male or female, that the complementary sexes reflect the image of God, that sex cannot be altered, and that rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God in that person," it said. "She believes that referring to another person using pronouns that do not correspond with that person’s biological sex is harmful to that person because it is false and harmful to herself because it forces her to lie by denying her religious beliefs and scientific evidence."
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"Because sharing a restroom with a male would be 'contrary to [her] sincerely held philosophical and religious beliefs and her desire for modesty and privacy as a woman,' she exited the bathroom," the complaint said. "When the Petitioner’s mother brought this to the attention of the principal, he said that Roe was permitted by the SR&R to use the bathroom that corresponded with his gender identity."
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