****Breaking News****
June 22, 2021: Trans, non-binary, gender-non-conforming and other gender-expansive students have new rights and supports in FCPS.
FCPS welcomes LGBTQIA+ students and lists the rights and supports of Trans and Gender-Expansive students on this webpage.
Support for Gender-Expansive and Transgender Students
- The right to access restroom and locker room facilities and other non-stigmatizing accommodations that are consistent with the student’s gender identity;
- The right to non-disclosure of gender identity and/or sexual orientation unless required by law;
- The right to be called by chosen names and pronouns;
- The right to internally generated and shared school lists of students (e.g., honor roll, graduation programs, yearbooks, school newspapers) that identify students by their chosen names and genders.
- The right to receive support to ensure safe and equitable access to all school and FCPS facilities and activities.
- Editorial note: the right to “shared schools lists” includes the right to have their chosen name appear in their school email accounts and on online platforms such as Google Meets and Schoology
Students or parents/guardians with questions about accessing supports for gender-expansive and transgender students should contact their school counselor, psychologist, social worker, or the FCPS Ombudsman. Parents/guardians can also contact the FCPS Parent Resource Center
Editorial note: The “ FCPS Ombudsman” is an anonymous problem-solver for anyone in FCPS (students, staff, parents). If you are encountering difficulty with getting any of these rights through, just call the Office of the Ombudsman or submit the form, and they will help fix it. The office is really the go-to place when you encounter barriers.
Students may initiate any of these rights by contacting their counselor, or, if the counselor, is out for the summer, the Principal or the Ombudsman.
The members of FCPS Pride, staff and families, welcome and applaud the groundbreaking steps that Fairfax County Public Schools is undertaking to ensure that all students, including trans and gender-expansive students, are welcome, safe, and respected in our schools, from K to 12. We look forward to further action by the school board and administration to ensure that LGBTQIA+ students, staff and families are fully included in our school community.
As one student said, “Does this mean I won’t be treated like a second-class child anymore?” One parent said “It’s been hard negotiating every year for my child’s rights in school. Now I know that my child and I have the full support of the school.”
