On June 14 at its regular meeting, the Fairfax County School Board approved updates to the Family Life Education Curriculum which are more inclusive of transgender students and family members, and a provision which will teach about ways to help fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic and inevitably save some of our students from infection.
Many members of the LGBTQ community and many allies came to the School Board meeting wearing purple, outnumbering those opposed by more than two-to-one. School Board members Karen Corbett Sanders (Mount Vernon), Tamara Derenak Kaufax (Lee), Megan McLaughlin (Braddock), Jane Strauss (Dranesville), Dalia Palchik (Providence), Pat Hynes (Hunter Mill), Sandy Evans (Mason), Karen Keys-Gamarra (at-large), Ilryong Moon (at-large) and Ryan McElveen (at-large) spoke eloquently and clearly in support of these provisions. Sully representative Tom Wilson and Springfield representative Elizabeth Schultz spoke against them, but were in fact away from the table for the final vote; it was unanimous at 10-0.
As president of FCPS Pride (a social welfare organization for LGBTQ employees, parents of LGBTQ students, and LGBTQ parents and allies in Fairfax County Public Schools), I would like to express my gratitude for the citizens who came to support, and to the elected officials who responded to those community members. We look forward to contributing, canvassing and voting at the elections in 2019.
Robert Rigby, Jr.
President, FCPS Pride