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A Tough Week for Transgender Students and Families After years of attacks on rights of transgender students, this past week has seen an onslaught of anti-transgender media, court cases, and federal and state activity. For parents of transgender students, transgender students, and the transgender community, it is just too much. They are exhausted, so all allies need to continue to step up to fight alongside them against such attacks. “Children's well-being now, ability to live life without scarred spirits, and their very lives a re at stake.”   - Robert Rigby Since last Wednesday, we have seen almost  nonstop attacks on the rights of transgender students to exist. Here is a timeline:  December 4: Opening arguments began in the US v. Skrmetti  Supreme Court case where the state of Tennessee is trying to eliminate gender affirming care for transgender children, despite parental consent and doctor’s approval. December 6: A Fairfax Circuit Court hearing on Jane Doe v. FCSB  where America First Legal argued a religious objection on behalf of the children of a West Springfield parent, Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, against pronoun and bathroom policies in Fairfax County. December 9: Yet another Federalist opinion piece was published attacking transgender civil rights and transgender allies by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, Independent Women’s Network (IWN) Fairfax Chapter Lead. December 10: Trump nominated known transphobic election denier Harmeet Dillon as the Assistant Attorney General (AG) in charge of the civil rights division in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). December 11: A vote was passed in the House on a Republican-amended military budget bill that will ban gender affirming care for military family children. December 11:  Chesterfield County School Board undermined the safety of transgender students through a controversial policy revision. Below, I will cover these attacks on the rights of transgender students to exist in life and public school; however, before doing so, I would like to remind everyone of some successes in the past week. Although we will need to continue the fight for LGBTQIA+ civil rights and the right of transgender people to exist, we also need to celebrate our successes: Prattville Pride  won an injunction to permit them to participate in the Prattville annual Christmas parade, Montana Supreme Court blocked a ban  on healthcare for transgender youth, the U.S. Supreme Court turned away a Wisconsin case  against transgender students, and local group, Transgender Education Association  won an award for their advocacy. Click on the arrows below to read more about about this rough week of attacks on transgender civil rights.  1. Gender Affirming Care under Fire at the Supreme Court ( L.W. v. Skrmetti ) On December 4th, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) began hearing oral arguments in the case of L.W. v. Skrmetti , to determine whether Tennessee Senate Bill 1 prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Tennessee, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP brought the lawsuit on behalf of a 16-year-old transgender girl, her parents, two other plaintiff families, and a Memphis-based physician.  Glorious but cold day for Supreme Court rally Lambda Legal  described the case as whether “transgender minors in Tennessee can access the same medical care that is commonly provided to non transgender minors and whether their families can make healthcare decisions in consultation with their doctors without the interference of politicians.” The lawyers argued that the Tennessee law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution because it “unfairly discriminates against transgender youth by denying them the same care that is available to other youth, such as hormone therapy or puberty blockers.” Lambda Legal noted two historic firsts  associated with this case: the Solicitor General of the United States, Elizabeth Prelogar, also represented the interests of the transgender community, and this is the first case at the Supreme Court where parties are represented by an openly transgender lawyer, Chase Strangio, co-counsel from the ACLU. I and other FCPS Pride board members attended the rally in support of the civil rights of transgender youth and their families. As you can see from the photos below, the Freedom to Be Ourselves rally  was a glorious affair with music, rainbows, and people from all over the country who showed up in the extreme cold to support civil rights for transgender people. Straight, gay, trans, non-binary, and cis people of all races and religions rallied against the dark disinformation campaign from the sad, small affair with paid agitators and angry operatives screaming negativity and hate against parents and their children in our rally. The outcome of this case will have far reaching consequences. Over half of the states have banned hormone therapies for transgender youth, and far-right groups are targeting trans youth with coordinated disinformation campaigns and legal cases (see below). In Virginia, a negative SCOTUS decision would make school district defense of supportive transgender student policies more critical, but also more difficult. Sign made by parents at the Free to Be Ourselves rally 2. Religious Objection to Using Pronouns and Bathroom Access ( Jane Doe v. FCSB ) On December 6th, Judge Kassabian heard a demurrer request by the FCSB in the Fairfax Circuit Court after America First Legal added new plaintiffs to its lawsuit. Fundamentally, the lawsuit asserts that religious freedom supersedes other freedoms, and therefore permits violation of FCPS anti-bullying policies and infringement of the rights of transgender students to their pronouns, names, and right to use the bathroom of their gender.  In August, America First Legal added three additional plaintiffs, the minor sons of Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, after the claims of the graduated high school senior, Jane Doe, were rendered moot because Doe had graduated. Lundquist Arora is known as the IWN Fairfax Chair , a “concerned parent” on Fox and Newsmax, and a columnist (for various far right media outlets) whose opinion pieces regularly attack FCPS policies and personnel, and LGBTQIA rights. News reports indicate that Lundquist-Arora dropped out of the 2023  school board election after video surfaced of her mocking an autistic student . Last Friday, the FCSB lawyer, Noah Sullivan of Gentry Lock, argued to dismiss the case based on standing questioning “What real  conflict is there between [the plaintiffs] religious practices and what the School Board’s policies require?” Sullivan declared that the plaintiffs admit that there is no conflict, rather raise “erroneous procedural arguments.”  There was a mildly humorous point during the trial when Ian Prior started to say “LCPS” instead of “FCPS” during his argument. This was funny, as Prior, the America First Legal counsel, is the founder of Fight for Schools , and has been deeply involved  in the culture wars  in Loudoun County  Public Schools (LCPS).  Ultimately, the judge ruled that four counts will continue because they cover constitutional issues, while three were dismissed with leave for the plaintiffs to amend their complaint. Prior has trumpeted the decision as a “major win;” however, in truth, this hearing merely determined that the four “pronoun” counts will go to trial, but the three “bathroom” counts were dismissed. At trial, the plaintiff’s will have to prove their case of “compelled speech” which may be difficult as no one is forcing speech. The students are fully within their rights to avoid using pronouns, like the teacher in the Vlaming case . There was quite a bit of conservative media in the audience, including Luke Rosiak of the Daily Wire and Nick Minock of WJLA, both of whom reported on the case. Unfortunately, Rosiak’s reporting mostly recycled Prior’s talking points, referred to cisgender girls as “normal girls,” and included several irrelevant, inflammatory points to rile up his conservative readers. Similarly, Minock reported Prior’s inaccurate statements about FCPS policy as if they were true; however, he did reach out to others for comment. Interestingly, neither reporter mentioned the petitioner’s name, despite Lundquist-Arora being familiar to both of them. One should know that there are deep connections among Rosiak, Prior, and Lundquist-Arora, all of whom do work with (or for?) Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), a Project 2025 signatory, and IWF’s affiliated groups like IWN. However, for the most complete and correct coverage of the case, one should review Angela Woolsey’s reporting in Fairfax Now . At this time, there is no court hearing set. If you would like to learn more about the case, please check out 4 Public Education’s previous blogs: A Complex (and Expensive!) Legal Showdown about Student Rights Continues  (August 10, 2024) A Controversial Legal Attack on Students and Schools  (July 19, 2024) 3. Nomination of Harmeet Dhillon to a Civil Rights Appointment On October 9th, Trump chose Harmeet K. Dhillon, a known Trump loyalist and activist. As the Washington post  noted, “If confirmed by the Senate, Dhillon would oversee hundreds of civil rights attorneys charged with anti discrimination and voting rights cases, though she is expected to preside over a broad shift in enforcement priorities from the Biden administration.” Besides her activism against COVID protections; voting rights; and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, she is a 2020 election denier who has been active against transgender rights and protections. She will likely pursue changes to transgender students’ rights in sports, schools, and health care. Of course, her activism extends to  the rights of all LGBTQIA people , as well. This means that the civil rights of the entire LGBTQIA community may be abridged under Dhillon’s leadership; however, it is likely that she will continue to focus most of her attention on restricting the rights of the transgender community, which will have devastating consequences. 4. The Federalist Jumps the Shark with Transphobic Content In this most recent The Federalist opinion piece classified under the subject “Trans Insanity,” Lundquist-Arora continued her verbal attack on the transgender community. To date she has written dozens of pieces in the Washington Times, Washington Examiner, and The Federalist expounding on untruths about LGBTQIA youth and adults, their families, and their allies. In this opinion piece, Lundquist-Arora claimed that through the smog and traffic jam in Delhi, India, she saw “trans-identifying adults” mobbing a car next to her. Of course, it is entirely possible that men are merely dressing up as women, but she claimed that they were “trans-identifying” without talking to them. Additionally, Lundquist-Arora ignored the critical context that unhomed people of all ages and identities  interfere with traffic in Delhi, and the tragic regularity of sexual assaults by cisgender men . If one takes her at her word that this scenario actually happened and she saw it through the smog, it is a bizarre scenario to use in order to misrepresent transgender people in India, much less in the United States. However, Lundquist-Arora went one step further to tarnish the reputations of those who fight for transgender civil rights when she claimed they belong to a “trans cult.” Once you portray your opponents as belonging in a cult, without any evidence, then you really have lost the argument.  In that piece, Lundquist-Arora made a series of dubious, easily disprovable, and mean-spirited statements about transgender people, parents of transgender students, and allies: A “transgender mob” existed, and it was trying to “weaponize [the] kindness” of Americans. Transgender student rights run counter to women’s rights, parental rights, and religious freedom. ( Note: this is pure far right disinformation.) Those parents and grandparents supporting transgender civil rights are a “tyrannical minority.” “The trans cult [is] made up of mostly bored white women.” Trans activists are “narcissistic.”  Based on my own experience, most advocates for transgender civil rights are transgender and/or parents and relatives of transgender children or adults. Typically, transgender allies include individuals/groups who support civil rights for all Americans, no matter their gender identity, race, immigration status, religion, sexuality, or disability.  In fact, there is a strong kinship among different racial civil rights groups, disability advocates, religious groups, and LGBTQIA advocates. To deny this cooperation is to deny the truth of those of us on the ground, standing up every day for the rights of students, educators, and community members. As seen at the rally at the Supreme Court, the audience and speakers represented the full spectrum of our country, including women, men, and children who were white, Black, Hispanic, Christian, Jewish, and (even) Republicans.  There is no need to misrepresent parents of transgender children as beggars, narcissists, cultists, and “alphabet mafia.” The Federalist should be ashamed of itself for repeatedly publishing such lies and hate. Most civil rights activists know that transgender rights run hand-in-hand with women’s rights, parental rights, and religious rights. Unfortunately, to fully explain this would require an entirely different blog. 5. Restricting the Military Families’ Insurance Coverage At the last minute, Republican congressman, Mike Johnson (R-LA) added language to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act  (NDAA), that bans insurance company Tricare from providing gender-affirming care for minors under the age of 18.The House voted on the NDAA  with the ban in place on Wednesday, December 11th. It was hoped that it would fail, as have previous efforts  to add similar legislation into the NDAA; however, the House passed the NDAA  with the amended language. The votes were tallied by the Washington Post . This news has been feared by military families across the country. Its passage means that children receiving life-saving medical care–with parental consent under the supervision of their doctor–will be ripped from their ongoing care and will either suffer without treatment, pay out of pocket, or find other less accessible or safe ways to ensure continued care. Military families demand and deserve health care for ALL of their kids. Anyone who requires medical care for a chronic condition, whether it be asthma or diabetes should be sympathetic to the need to have continued access to life-saving medicines and care. Gender-affirming care is most common  for cisgender people whose birth gender matches their gender identity. Such care for cisgender people can include hormone replacement therapy (common among perimenopausal women), birth control pills, breast reconstruction following mastectomies, gynecomastia treatments  for men, and testosterone treatments. Many such treatments are used on cisgender minors, as well. I would hope that cisgender women and men who receive gender-affirming care  would be sympathetic to ensuring gender-affirming health care for others, including transgender people. Similarly, if cisgender patients’ gender-affirming health care is covered by insurance, so should gender-affirming health care for transgender patients be covered by insurance.  "Lawmakers are playing politics with the military families' health care: “This is a betrayal of our service members and a threat to national security." - Rachel Branaman , executive director of the Modern Military Association of America The amendment to the NDAA  is a direct attack on military members and their families. You can find more information, including action items, at this link .   “The inclusion of this harmful provision puts the lives of children at risk and may force thousands of service members to make the choice of continuing their military service or leaving to ensure their child can get the health care they need.” - Representative Adam Smith  (D-WA), top Democrat on the House Committee on Armed Services 6. Chesterfield School Board Chooses Anti-Trans Policies In an astonishing move on December 11th, a large school district outside of Richmond voted to impose anti-trans policies in their schools despite the overwhelming outcry of parents and school staff. It is said that these policies go beyond Youngkin’s anti-trans model policies  and LGBTQIA advocates express safety concerns about these sweeping anti-trans changes. Despite more than 130 speakers on Tuesday, most of whom opposed these changes, Chesterfield County Public Schools School Board (CCPSSB) voted to reverse their policies, which many say will endanger transgender students. Claiming they were acting according to “parents rights,” the CCPSSB enacted policies against the Superintendent's wishes which permit deadnaming of transgender children, forced bathroom use according to sex on the birth certificate, compel actions by staff, and restrict access to sports. Amendments to the previous policy can be found here .  All in all, they removed the word “transgender” nearly a dozen times from their policy; however, they continue to reference Governor Northam’s 2021 Transgender Policies in their new policy. Does that mean that they are in violation of their own policies? Or, does it mean they require another vote to amend the policy? Answer: Unknown, but this ironic misstep clarifies that their effort is more about exclusion of transgender students and not about policy. Despite the desperate pleas and scientific justifications made by hundreds of people, the CCPSSB chose to enact policies that will most likely cause immense harm to the transgender and nonbinary communities of students and their families, while offering no perceivable benefit. In the words of Roberty Rigby of FCPS Pride: “the criminal indifference to the safety of children is stunning.”  Of course, this policy change will disrupt the schools, including foreseeable issues associated with children using names other than those on their birth certificates, all of which should fall under the new policy. If Susanna goes by “Sue” or Michael goes by “Mike” will the rules apply equally to them as applied to the families of transgender children who will be required to submit written authorization of their approval of naming convention in the school? Much of these changes were pushed by the far-right evangelical lobbying organization Family Foundation located in Richmond which has a large budget and motivated activists who have been bussed around the state for protests. They can be identified by their tragically ironic mass-produced posters held by grandparents that say “Protect Every Kid” which obviously exclude the kids that they find distasteful like LGBTQIA+ students. Family Foundation descended on 10/7/21 FCSB meeting RVA Magazine of Richmond  notes that they are on the opposite side of the majority of Virginians on nearly every subject from same-sex marriage to legalization of cannabis. The Family Foundation is against reproductive rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, parental rights, and sex education. In opposition to respected medical organizations, the Family Foundation of Virginia supports “ conversion therapy ,” which has more in common with torture than therapeutic psychological support. Family Foundation of Virginia is on the SPLC-defined list of anti-LGBTQIA hate groups , as well.  Can the Chesterfield school district defend the expense, confusion, harm, and inequality caused by these changes? How do these changes improve education outcomes? Answer: they can’t defend these changes, and excluding and scaring students does not improve outcomes. Anticipating 2025 and More Civil Rights Attacks If the last couple of years of vicious attacks against transgender student rights have seemed rough, this will only intensify under the next presidential administration. With pressure, policy changes, and key appointments at the federal level, it will make it harder for school districts to hold their ground. Additionally, it is known that changes at the federal level will create chaos which will make it harder for school administration and staff to know how vigorously to defend and support queer students and staff out of confusion and fear of retaliation. Robert Rigby, longtime LGBTQIA activist and leader of FCPS Pride, anticipates that in the next year: “Queer kids and staff are entering an automatically more hostile environment in any school. The burden will fall upon teachers and staff to stand by kids.” He suggested that we continue with our advocacy for civil rights for our LGBTQIA+ students, families, staff, and community. We shouldn’t stop reminding our local school boards and superintendents via emails and conversations how important it is to support our vulnerable children during these challenging times.

When the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) rolled out its proposed Accreditation and Accountability Framework in June of 2024, they projected 70% of Virginia’s highly ranked K-12 schools would be categorized as Off Track or Needing Intensive Support based on their data modeling. However, the mechanics of that modeling was not released to either the Virginia legislature or the public.  By July 25th, after outcries of disinformation and non-transparency, the  estimate was dropped to 61%,  again without revealing source data. When that was run up the flagpole but did not fly well, the percentage was dropped yet again.  To requests and FOIAs for more transparency and the data on which the modeling was based, VDOE failed to respond, but did say most recent modeling shows lower failure projections.  On August 29, 2024, the Virginia Board of Education voted to confirm the final rules regarding the Framework without having released the actual data modeling. In September, eight Northern  Virginia superintendents requested delays in implementing the changes which will take effect in January of 2025. Similarly, legislators have requested delay. Finally on November 8, 2024 , Governor Youngkin and Superintendent Coons released some data, while complaining about the Virginia Education Associations’ press conference during which once again called for data release. As of November 8th, Youngkin’s projected estimate of Off Track schools stands at 35% of Virginia K-12 schools expected to be Off Track or In Need of Intensive Support. The modeling dataset released  is complex, convoluted, and difficult to decipher, but at least it’s something. The spreadsheet does not answer the question of why the numbers keep changing or why the Governor and his VDOE are so determined to create embedded “gotcha’s” in their Framework. How did the Department’s projections change from 60.1% on the day it was approved in August, to 35% on November 8th? Why did the department’s projections go from 70 to 61, to 40s, to 35 percent? See Governor Youngkin’s Magic Math Part 2 for a deeper analysis. No explanation has been provided by Youngkin’s VDOE as to why the numbers keep changing. Particularly, we don’t know what in the Framework was changed to alter the outcome projections between August when the Framework was approved and November when the data was released.  We are still left to wonder why schools that were rated best in the country a few months ago and highly rated for years, now are expected to have 1 in 3 schools Off Track. Governor Youngkin never retracted the criticism of Virginia’s public schools he shared after the first release of 70% estimates.  Current review of the actual “Support Framework” (though there is little evidence of “support” for either students or schools in the Framework) does show small changes to adjust the initial Mastery and Growth ratios and some allowance for English Learner growth assessments. However, it does not show substantive changes that would account for the initial projected failure rates, the downward trend, or the continued excessive projections that one in three Virginia schools be Off Track. One explanation may be that some components of the Accreditation and Accountability Support Framework, such as the 3E Readiness requirements, have never been implemented before. There is no data from which to extrapolate what the success rates will be on the statewide 5th grade and 8th grade portfolios, or on the high school courses required in middle school and college requirements in high school which have never been required before.  In fact, we don’t know what the success rates will be for large scale changes in high school Career and Technology Education (CTE) implementation which will require new staff positions and new private sector-school partnerships. Nor do we know whether counselors’ work load requirements for implementing the prescribed 3E plans for all middle and high schoolers will be successful. Although there are small added accommodations for English Learner growth, it is not clear whether those adjustments will ameliorate the effects of newly enrolled English learners being counted in testing reports and how they will affect school accountability scores. We have no crosswalk with current English Learner SOL scores to see how those school scores will change. All those questions remain unanswered even after the current data and modeling results were released.  In other words, the Youngkin VDOE is relying on Magic Math to convince Virginians that they have it right this time and that one third of schools are Off Track and in Need of Intensive Support. (Note: “Support” in the Framework context is actually intrusive intervention requirements such as contractual MOUs and supervision).  Instead of this opaque and constantly changing VDOE Framework, 4 Public Education recommends Virginia use solutions we already know will work rather than implementing the VDOE’s plan. For example:  Declare ALL public schools in Virginia in need of the state funding support that would provide the resources and flexibility localities required to supply their children with the Constitutionally required quality education.  Provide the support recommended in the 2023 JLARC Report and provide funding for teachers, English Learners, and Special Education students that would meet or exceed the national average.  Once real solutions have been implemented, then VDOE and the Governor can try again to run the numbers, because Virginians are done with their magic sleight of hand with our public education dollars and students.  See  Thane Glenn’s Fantasy Stories of Educational Horror for Part II in this series or click below.

Part II of Governor Youngkin’s Magical Thinking series Once upon a time, in a land we all love, there was a Governor (or Thane if you are in Shakespearean Scotland).... From day one of his term, Governor Glenn Youngkin knew that his future depended on his record in Virginia. And his record in Virginia depended on his plan to convince the people of Virginia that their schools were terrible. He set out with a series of stories and policies that would divide and defeat Virginians. His first fantastic tale that Virginia schools were terrible would be launched with Executive Order One and depend on a Tattle Line where students and parents across the Commonwealth could report how awful their teachers were. The  Tattle Line was a failure,  and only released, after lawsuits, but Youngkin and his Secretary Guiderra continued to publicize their base, fallacious tale that public school teachers and schools in Virginia were lying to and failing their communities. There have been variations on the “Our schools are Terrible Tales,” from Hillsdale History  changes that insisted to Black, Brown, and Girl children that their ancestors did not contribute to Virginia’s story, to the attorney general’s never-ending investigations and advocacy against student access to education opportunities.  With each story the projections grew more fantastical. All reiterated the imagined failure of Virginia’s public schools: that they were inferior, teaching false and destructive information, and preferring marginal students over those “worthy of merit.” The stories would be carried by both his staff and in the MAGA journalism and litigation movements.  Many of the tales were  outlandish , and  ruthlessly cruel , targeting the most vulnerable students  and telling lies that teachers were unduly influencing students about things like their gender, their rights, their ethnicities, their class, and their right to a high quality education.  Some of the stories just lied about what was offered already. The Lab Schools plans proposed dual enrollment and career programs which already existed in public schools, but the new plans would require more administrative management, and provide a more limited number of seats. Each tale attacking the education system and regaling the positive motives of privatizers was phrased as what was “good for”  students, and what was “better for Virginia,”  and what “must be done,” but each tale was merely a thinly veiled attempt to make Virginians believe that schools, students, teachers, and school boards deserved punishment.  Each was matched with a policy that directly confirmed the Governor and his allies' commitment to privilege and profit for some, and punishment or loss of services for the rest. Though he achieved a few items on his list, Youngkin’s governo rship so far has remained a series of minor skirmishes and larger battles foiled thanks mainly to a courageous group of legislators who have pushed back. The School Performance and Support Framework (Framework) is Mr. Youngkin’s most recent attempt to savage Virginia’s schools. His couriers promised that this time they would prove  almost three quarters of the schools in Virginia were failing.  Then CNBC reported  Virginia’s schools as the best in the nation, which exposed his tale as horror-fantasy.  He and his aides are still determined to implement the Framework, though it has received substantial resistance  from school boards, superintendents, and grassroots feedback around the state.  The Framework promises to create more disruption and chaos in children’s education than any policy so far because it will affect every year of a student’s education, and will affect every subject and every school in Virginia. No child will be safe from the spectre of tests designed for arbitrary, deliberate failure and no school will be safe from the ogre of failure labeling.   His last set of Education Horror Stories in 2025 will determine Glenn Youngkin’s future. He knows it, and as a result will do and say whatever it takes to convince Virginia and the nation his macabre tales are true.  See  Governor Youngkin’s Magic Math for Part I, or click below.

Because this is an odd year, as opposed to an even year, the Virginia General Assembly session will be short, lasting only 30 days. For this reason, the rush to get bills through each legislative chamber will be even more hectic than last year, and advocates for Public Education will be challenged to keep up with the calls to action before votes are made.  The General Assembly convened in Richmond on January 8, 2025 and January 17th is the last day legislators may introduce bills and resolutions. At this time, bills are moving quickly through subcommittees and committees as legislators decide which bills should advance to floor votes. February 4th is Crossover, the last day for each chamber to act on its own legislation (except Budget Bills) before surviving bills crossover to the other Chamber for consideration. February 20th is the last day either chamber can act on any remaining bills and appoint conferees. Links to Education Bills Information on the: Education bills in the House of Delegates can be found at this link K-12 Public Education bills in the Senate can be found at this link . List and status of each of the six priority 4 Public Education bills for the 2025 session can be found at this link . As calls-to-action are developed for priority education bills they will be shared on 4 Public Education’s webpage under the “act” tab ”.

Our guest blogger, Phyllis Payne, MPH, is the Co-Founder of SLEEP (Start Later for Excellence in Education Proposal) & Implementation Director at the national nonprofit, Start School Later . Are you hoping for later middle school start times for your own or other children in Fairfax?  If yes, we need your help now. Please sign this petition  to urge the school board and Superintendent Reid to prioritize this change to benefit the health, well-being, safety, and performance of our children.   The planned timeline has hit a wall. A year ago, I thought this board would be voting on a change to middle school start times for Fairfax this month (January 2025) for implementation in the fall of 2025. That’s what the FCPS timeline calls for.  Not only has the Board not had a public discussion of which of the 5 options presented on December 3rd is best for Fairfax, it is stuck on the question of whether to implement new bell schedules concurrently with boundary changes. We know from prior experience that FCPS has announced bell time changes as late as May, but best practice usually means that decisions must be made by March for smooth implementation, so it feels to me as if the decision to wait 8 weeks for further input from staff is a decision to delay yet another year at least. The Request for Proposal issued in January 2023 called for implementation in the 2024-2025 school year, but FCPS didn’t contract with any vendors until August 2023 — a delay that already cost students a year of healthier schedules. To do nothing is to continue to do harm.  I would like to hear this board and Dr. Reid reiterate FCPS’ commitment to changing middle school start times while keeping healthy scheduling for all of our students with a definitive plan and timeline for implementation in fall of 2025.  Here’s the testimony that I gave to the school board on January 9th . What I would have liked to say, if I had more than 2 minutes:   SLEEP in Fairfax has been advocating for healthy school schedules for Fairfax County children since 2004. FCPS has struggled to meet the biologically-driven scheduling needs of our children and today, you have several options, including 2 that start middle and high schools after 8:30 a.m. as recommended by the nation’s pediatricians. You have an opportunity to fulfill the dreams of parents, students, and staff in our school district . Stick with your original plans to implement next fall. It’s harmful to interrupt a child’s sleep cycle in the early morning hours – depriving them of the rest they need to grow and thrive. To delay is to continue to do harm. You’ve had the options since December 3rd and, yet, instead of discussing which of the options might be our Goldilocks Solution, we’re waiting to compare how the operationalization will differ if we change bells before or concurrently with boundary changes. It will be 8 weeks of delay to consider that question, which may mean a whole additional year or another decade, and, every day, some students and families are suffering with a schedule that literally cuts off their sleep and dreaming before it’s appropriate for them to wake. Sleep is foundational to almost everything we are doing as a school district. At Start School Later’s National Conference this year, Dr. Mark Bedell, Anne Arundel’s superintendent bragged about attendance rates increasing.  He noted, the big push back was concern about high schoolers not being available to pick up elementary siblings from school. There was a burden that parents put on the high schools. Superintendent Bedell shared the good news, “Guess what? Everybody. We don’t have any problems. … Our attendance rates over the last two years have increased. …When we have a system designed in the best interests of adults first rather than doing what’s right by children, then, we do a lot of harm, and our school board made a conscious decision that we weren’t going to make decisions to satisfy an adult-centered agenda.” He added, “Two years of data has shown significant promise that this was a good move, both on Federal and State level accountability measures—almost every single one of them is a net plus.”  His biggest smile came as he shared that he’s won more state championship titles  in the two years since the change than in all six years in his previous position. I’ve heard from more than one school leader that c hanging start times one of the best things they’ve done! Students feel better and are more awake and alert for school. FCPS shifted high schools from 7:20-8:10. The evidence base now includes positive outcomes from our students including significant improvements in mood and safe driving. More of our high schoolers eat breakfast. We left middle schoolers behind with a promise of improvements, which have been delayed long enough.  In the words of one of our students, “ Please do it by next year, I feel like a walking carcass .” The data bears her out and reminds us of the urgency of making this change. A recent review article on middle school start times and young adolescent sleep concluded that "... after an increase in opportunity for sleep due to a later SST shift, all students improved in negative affect, which included less fear, hostility, guilt, and sadness." and ,   "Late SSTs improved mood-related concerns, including self-reported depression and anxiety. Kim et al  found that students who experienced a delay in SST reported lower depressive symptoms and perceived stress, and students reported less engagement in behavioral and verbal aggressive actions at the 12-month follow-up." Further, if we want our children to be awake and ready to learn, the authors note, "Improvements in sleep and alertness may be a mechanism to promote engagement in school, such that students may be less likely to nap at school or doze off during instruction." (Barlan, et.al , 2022) If you know any families with children who suffer from depression and suicidality, you know, there is NOTHING more important to a parent than providing an environment in which our teens actually want to LIVE. Providing a later morning school schedule can have just that impact. I continue to be motivated by the student who wrote, “I work from 9 to midnight cleaning office buildings with my father and pray for later start times every day.” Please lead us to success on this transformational change--align bell times with adolescent body clocks to help our teens thrive. The outcomes are overwhelmingly positive. Delay harms too many. You have the power to prevent suffering. Families, teachers, and parents are counting on you. Thank you!  Other comments from Fairfax students include: “Almost everyone I know tells me they are tired on a daily basis.” We don’t ask our children to fast during the week and binge eat on the weekend. We need to stop expecting them to sleep that way. " “I have been struggling every day since the first day of school, even though I have been going to bed at 8:00. I have been forgetting things and not being able to focus." “Every day, I feel like a mess waking up … My mind is so much more clouded compared to elementary school…if the school board decides not to do anything about it, then teachers shouldn’t tell students not to fall asleep in class…” “Many of my friends don’t want to take after school clubs because they are tired.” Data from the Fairfax County Youth Survey (2023) : In Fairfax, about  1 in 4 eighth graders reported feeling so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that they stopped doing some usual activities .  More than 3 in 20 eighth graders reported that they felt stressed defined as "a situation in which a person feels tense, restless, nervous, anxious, or is unable to sleep at night because their mind is troubled" (within the last 30 days) either "most of the time" or "all of the time." Only about 1 in 3 answered "none of the time." Please take action now! Sign, and share the petition - on social media, in your neighborhood groups, with your PTA - everywhere you can to get the word out that Middle School Start Times are being derailed. Find more research and take more actions with our advocacy toolkit here. Photo credit: Marisa Ross

In today’s divided world, it was a pleasure to see agreement in a school board meeting, as the Fairfax County School Board (FCSB) unanimously agreed to extend  Dr. Michelle Reid’s contract for another year. Recently, Dr. Reid was ranked the second most powerful Virginian after Governor Youngkin. Thankfully, she has worked to use this power for good as she, the Fairfax County School Board (FCSB), and FCPS work towards quality, equitable education for Fairfax County students and higher pay and protections for staff. Some have loudly questioned her compensation package; however, her negotiated contract is well in line with compensation for other Superintendents of the largest school districts in Fairfax County. Additionally, she took on the job in the midst of coordinated attacks on FCPS by well-funded radical groups wishing to upend public education through repeated lawsuits and disinformation. Few professionals would be willing to walk into a job with that level of work, scrutiny, and impact no matter the compensation package, particularly when the job seems to run 24-7. Finally, Dr. Reid seems to be everywhere all at once. Whether she is visiting schools, supporting communities, or working with Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE)  to improve mental health , she is working to ensure that our schools offer quality education and opportunities, in a safe and restorative environment for students and staff. Thank you Dr. Reid and FCSB for this partnership.

Although not the sexiest sounding program, the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is one of the most critical analyses in Fairfax County when it comes to schools. Annually, the CIP reviews current student membership and facilities data in order to identify future capacity needs and capital requirements (e.g., renovation, new building, etc.). Thus the CIP drives resource allocation among schools and communities across Fairfax County. However, the total flow of capital resources is established by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, not the School Board. The School Board prioritizes these resources through the annual FY CIP and public input. Everything you need to know about the CIP is here , including 13 years of CIP summaries going back to 2012. The most current CIP is for FY 2025-29 , which was adopted with amendments  in February 2024. What most Fairfax residents should review is capacity utilization on pages 80-208 to see priorities, and breakdowns of capacity utilization by region and school or program type. It also includes projections of changes in capacity and the impact of modular use to reduce overcrowding at schools. It is complex, but so are boundaries and our over 200 schools, hundreds of school programs, over 180,000 students, and over 40,000 full and part-time employees. I’ve written two blogs that provide additional context and resources regarding boundary policy, change, and history: Essential Boundary Policy for a New Century  which explains the history of FCPS boundary policy and why it was necessary after 38 years of boundary changes with inadequate policies. It also provides examples of how some boundaries have been gerrymandered into “irregular” shapes over time, including Coates ES and surrounding elementary schools, Luther Jackson MS AAP program, Woodson HS, McLean HS, and Langley HS. It also has links to nearly a dozen resources  that would help you learn more about school boundaries. A “Brief” History of Boundary Change  which provides important context about FCPS Boundary Policy 8130, including politically-motivated efforts to prevent updates to the outdated policy. It also provides details about boundary changes in the last 20 years. It describes how boundary change is somewhat inevitable as demographics and development change the literal landscape of Fairfax County. An annual School Board public hearing soliciting public input on the proposed FY 2026 CIP  will be held Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 6pm. You can sign up here  to speak in person or via zoom (2 minutes) until 6pm on January 13. If you are planning to speak, it would be beneficial to review the proposed FY 2026 CIP  on your family’s schools to see if there are concerns that you would like to raise. Priority schools, which are schools that are the most under or over-utilized, are identified on pages 51-71. Regional reviews begin on page 72. Although there is significant concern about school boundaries at this time, the hearings are intended to discuss the proposed FY 2026 CIP so that the School Board can make amendments as needed. You can also send concerns directly to your school board member here . Note: Before the hearing at 6pm next Tuesday (1/14/25), the School Board will be having a work session from 11:30-4:30 (+ a break for lunch) to discuss the CIP. This can be attended in person at 8115 Gatehouse Road, Falls Church 22042 (Room 1600), or observed online on FCPS channel 99 https://www.fcps.edu/tv/ch99 . Read this if you want to know more about the FCPS Capital Improvement Plan and priorities.

Fairfax NAACP Community Meeting with the Superintendent Members of the Fairfax NAACP witnessed a rare event: a school superintendent willing to have a frank conversation about the state of schools for Black students. The meeting was hosted by Fairfax NAACP’s Dr. Sujatha Hamption (first Vice President and Chair of the Education Committee) and Mike Woltz (Chair of the Legal Redress Committee). It was a tough, open discussion with Dr. Michelle Reid, Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).  Racial equity was the foundation of the entire discussion with particular focus on the following: Impact of Regional Assistant Superintendents (RASs)  Literacy and Numeracy Hiring and Retention Needs for the Future Dr. Hampton framed the discussion through Dr. Reid’s credo: “If we walk by an inequity or mediocrity and do not attend to it, then we have lost the credibility to lead.” Mr. Woltz added that this forum was an opportunity to tell the whole story and was just the beginning of a dialogue. Impact of Regional Assistant Superintendents (RAS) For Black students, the impact of RASs is often negative despite their role of leadership, accountability, and direction of school principals. It seems that most of the RASs were once principals, thus their interest in holding principals accountable can be in conflict with their current role. Additionally, there is perceived disproportionality in time spent on some matters (e.g., the Hayfield football situation) versus time spent improving special education in that same region. It was discussed that the RASs’ focus does not always extend to things that matter most to Black students and educators, including active efforts to reduce racial discrimination in schools.  Under Dr. Reid’s supervision, the role of RASs has changed. Where they were once able to create their own independent plan for their region, they are now guided by the Strategic Plan to ensure that all regions are “going in the same direction.” They meet weekly to ensure they are accountable and to discuss the regional data dashboards.  Based on the discussion with Dr. Hampton and Mr. Woltz, Dr. Reid acknowledged that, “We still have work to do.” Dr. Reid shared how families should report racial incidents: Talk to school based staff. If the principal conversation doesn't go well, then escalate to the RAS. Then, the chief equity office.  If the principal is  the problem, then the RAS should be contacted immediately. Also there is a discrimination and harassment form online. Regional equity specialists should be reviewing incidents in a timely manner and the team should support an environment to reduce harm; however, this may not always happen. A "Let's talk" feature has been added to the laptops for students. Now, it is being tracked, and they weren't before. It is 2nd year of tracking. Literacy and Numeracy Dr. Hampton celebrated the successes FCPS has made with English Language Learners where their World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA)  scores were up by 11% but that led to the question, “Why hasn’t FCPS seen similar improvements to close gaps for Black students?” This would include barriers to improvement that are inside  the schools, including unconscious bias which results in greater discipline of (11% for Black students versus 6% overall) and fewer opportunities offered to Black students (e.g., fewer in advanced classes and AAP).  Thoughtfully, Dr. Reid responded that “the system is designed to get the results it gets,” thus she has worked to disrupt practices that lead to barriers for children negatively impacted by the system. FCPS has seen increases in both the number of Black students taking Algebra by 8th grade and on-time graduation for Black students. Dr. Hampton described the “gates” (e.g., Advanced Academic Placement (AAP) access) that are “still there to prevent Black kids from having opportunities, and someone is operating the gate” which lead to the question,”What are the changes in FCPS to make the [Strategic Plan Algebra] goal by 2030?” Dr. Reid said that access to Algebra by 8th grade should not be related to access to AAP, but is related to whether advanced math is available in elementary schools. She suggested that boundary review and restructuring of middle schools to include 6th grade may enable access for all students to Algebra. Mr. Woltz added that his children have had few issues with their peers, but more with their teachers, thus, Black student access to AAP is more about the teacher’s personality and views than about a child’s abilities. He asked whether Dr. Reid considered the concept of bringing AAP to the kids, rather than kids going to AAP? Dr. Reid said that AAP is a civil right and that her instructional team is working to get AAP opportunities to the kids. Dr. Reid shared ideas of making Career and technical education (CTE)  classes more accessible and modern, including: opening academy class offerings around the school district, an innovative partnership with INOVA Hospital for ultrasound technicians, and apprenticeship programs. These programs can open doors for students who are not (quite?) ready for college. There was an interesting discussion about recent efforts to defund public education systems as part of a national effort to create an “underclass” by making higher education less accessible, particularly for underrepresented groups like Black students. Therefore, there is a need to balance opportunities between higher education and CTE. Dr. Ried pointed out that so many more people with high school diplomas (and no higher education) died of COVID than their college-educated peers, due to the inability of remote work for most jobs for those without higher education. Hiring and Retention of Black Staff The rate of staff departures in FCPS has decreased  by a whopping 37%! Although she did not have a breakdown by race of retention, Dr. Reid shared that FCPS continues to increase the number of Black teachers, Assistant Principals, and Principals hired every year since 2019. Nevertheless, FCPS needs to continue to make progress. Fairfax NAACP advocated for attracting, hiring, and retaining the best teachers and highlights the positive impacts on students of having a Black teacher, including a decrease in disciplinary referrals, and improvements in math scores and attendance. In FCPS, there are problems with both hiring and retention. For example, skilled Black recruits are less likely to be contacted by principals and many schools are unsafe for Black educators. White parents and community are often less welcoming (if not openly hostile) to Black staff and principals, while white principals have deleterious impact on the retention of Black staff. Needs for the Future The meeting ended with “asks” by Fairfax NAACP, including: Holding more meetings like this one. Success in solving the Black/white achievement gap in FCPS. Regular sharing of numeracy and literacy data. AAP enrollment changes (e.g., every pyramid should have AAP centers). Data on Black students and math pathways. More data on recruitment and retention. Improvement of RASs vis-a-vis racial equity, bias, and reporting. Despite recent elections which may change the landscape of public education across the nation, Dr. Reid assured the room that FCPS would remain steadfast in its resolve to quality public education for Black students and all students. Public education is the cornerstone of democracy. We are at a crossroads, and Fairfax can be a light for the nation. We have a mandate and the future of the country depends on our work. -- Dr. Reid

Ask your Elected Officials to Act before it is Too Late Most people are unaware of the power they have as constituents of senators and congressional representatives. Regardless of their party, elected officials serve and give special consideration to their constituents–they try to satisfy their constituents’ requests when they can. For those reasons, you can exercise your power by contacting your congressperson and senators to tell them what you would like them to do. And, don’t forget to let them know you are their constituent. Currently there are three main asks each of us can make of our Senators and Congresspersons (see links below for contact information for your representatives):  Ask 1. Continue to support our U.S. Department of Education, their programs, and their funding to states to provide good educations for all public-school students.  Share your concerns about proposed changes in policies and funding for the US Department of Education outlined in the Project 2025 and the Agenda 47 documents. Find more information here .  Ask 2. Please do everything you can to prevent the president elect from succeeding with his plan to appoint the Secretary of Education and other cabinet members with recess appointments.  Mr. Trump has asked that the Senate go into recess early in his administration so he does not have to subject nominees to Senate confirmation. The founders made recess appointments possible  for when there is an emergency, not for presidents to use as a go-around for senate confirmation hearings. Ask 3. Please continue to hold the president elect and his transition team to the requirements of the law under the Presidential Transition Act  before the transition takes place . It is troubling and unacceptable that the president elect has refused to sign the ethics agreement regarding conflicts of interest. Thank you, advocates, for taking a moment to contact both of your senators and your congressperson. Please note that if your senators or congressperson change as a result of the recent election, you may have to contact both your current and the new legislator to be most effective. Find your congressperson here: https://www.house.gov/representatives Find your senator here: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

Election Day 2024 has come and gone.  Like most pro-public schools people, we here at 4 Public Education are stunned and concerned about the results. Though Virginia stood for public education for the most part, large numbers of states voted for an anti-public schools platform. The incoming administration has made no bones about their education policy plans which are draconian. In the coming days and weeks, we will be formulating action plans and strategies for protecting our students and schools, but first we want to reassure Virginians and people around the country who rely on us for information and strategies that we will be here.  Holly Hazard, our founding president, said it well:  To my daughters and others who are afraid for their own autonomy, I will still fight to the death for you.  To my immigrant friends who are afraid they are no longer welcome-you are and I’m here for you.  To my gay friends and family-we will hold our heads high and stand with you against hate and persecution. We lost this battle but we will NEVER give in. Ever.  You matter and you have millions of people standing with you, by you and for you.  Don’t ever forget that. We at 4 Public Education will remember and hold fast.  When you are ready to join the struggle for our schools and communities with some time and additional actions, please consider volunteering for 4 PE  here  or donating to support our cause here .