On Friday, the Fairfax County Circuit Court issued a landmark decision in America First Legal’s (AFL) lawsuit against Fairfax County Public School (FCPS), ruling that FCPS’ pronoun policy punishing “misgendering” and bathroom policy based on “gender identity” violate students’ constitutional rights.
On March 5, 2024, AFL filed a lawsuit, on behalf of four students, against FCPS’ instituted pronoun policies that punished students for unintentional or non-malicious “misgendering” and bathroom policies that gave preferential treatment to students using restrooms “consistent with the student’s gender identity.”
On September 17, 2024 AFL added more Fairfax plaintiffs to the case as the Fairfax County School Board repeatedly tried to dismiss the case and prevent the court from reviewing its policies.
AFL’s arguments include:
- FCPS’ pronoun policy constitutes compelled speech because it threatens discipline for even an accidental or non-malicious “misgendering” or “deadnaming.”
- FCPS’ pronoun policy violated students’ free exercise of rights under the Virginia Constitution by forcing them to endorse the idea that sex is changeable;
- FCPS’ bathroom policy discriminates on the basis of sex by giving preferential treatment to students who claim a sex different than their biological sex over students who seek to use bathrooms as they’ve always used, without the presence of students of the opposite sex.
The court ruled that the Petitioners have sufficiently alleged facts demonstrating that FCPS’s pronoun policy violates students’ free speech and free exercise rights under the Virginia Constitution and that its bathroom policy constitutes unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex.
The critical case will now proceed — despite five attempts by the school district to prevent the case from being considered. AFL looks forward to advancing this lawsuit and ensuring FCPS is held accountable for its radical, discriminatory policies that violate students’ constitutional rights.
Statement from Ian Prior, America First Legal Senior Advisor:
“This is a major win for students in Fairfax County, Virginia and the rule of law. Policies that compel students to refer to other students by their preferred names and pronouns strike at the heart of the core fundamental rights of free speech and free exercise. And bathroom policies giving ‘transgender and gender expansive’ students the right to use any bathroom of their choice, while relegating other students to private restrooms if they are uncomfortable, constitute discrimination on the basis of sex. We look forward to moving forward in this case and continuing to fight these battles in Virginia and through America,” said Ian Prior.
Read the decision here.
