The Fairfax County Public School Board (FCPS) has fully embraced the gender experimentation of the left and the Obama Administration. They have embraced the Obama Administration’s transgender recommendations as if they had the force of law – which they do not.
FCPS added transgender students to their anti-discrimination policy, plans to teach transgenderism as entirely acceptable, and wants to allow transgender students to use any bathroom and play on any sports team of their choice. They have pushed these changes through, despite serious concerns about protocol, unanswered questions, one-sided policies, and religious freedom violations.
Below is the statement made on behalf of Concerned Women for America (CWA) in a public video testimonial at the FCPS board meeting on Thursday, July 14, 2016, regarding these problematic actions.
[TRANSCRIPT]Hello my name is Chaney Mullins, and I am representing Concerned Women for America, including our CEO Penny Nance, our many members across this nation, including many mothers in Fairfax County. And one of our core issues is education, and we believe that the rights of all students and parents should be respected.
And we are deeply concerned that this board has had a one-sided approach to student rights.
When it comes to things like Family Life Curriculum committees and now these gender identity guidelines, we believe that the entire community needs ample time for consideration and information and that multiple voices should be involved in the process.
Now we know that the issue of gender identity is delicate, and we wish to approach it with love and grace and especially the common ground against the horrendous practice of bullying that many transgender students have unfortunately experienced.
But we also feel it is not in the best interest of children to say that their bodies and their minds cannot be the same, we find this leaves them disunited, and we are especially concerned for the rights of religious students who feel that believing in male and female will get them persecuted or punished in some way or also put them in danger in some cases.
We know that each student is unique and they all have their own story to tell of the confusion of puberty. But evidence shows that up to 80% of children lose transgender feelings over time and that gender transitions can result in regret, further confusion, and health risks.
But in order to respect the needs of all students, there are solutions and compromises we can make that do not put students in positions of having to compromise their own religious or cultural values.
And the guidelines, as they currently stand, are both poorly written and do not consider all the implications for the large and diverse students that we have in Fairfax county.
What about women that feel unsafe with men in their bathroom, even if they are harmless man – they have a cultural modesty or a safety concern that makes them uncomfortable – do their feelings matter?
Do the feelings of girls that will be passed over for sports scholarships in a twist of Title IX – do they matter?
Surely all students matter, and we can be oriented towards true inclusion, including the rights of religious students in these decisions – when the curriculum comes out and with the working session to consider these gender identity guidelines.
Thank you.