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Loudoun School Board Rejects Specific LGBT Protection Language </h1>
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<span class="gmail-posted-on"><a href="http://loudounnow.com/2017/01/11/loudoun-school-board-opposes-lgbt-protection-language/" title="12:48 am" rel="bookmark"> <time class="entry-date gmail-published" datetime="2017-01-11T00:48:49+00:00">2017-01-11</time></a></span>
<span class="gmail-byline"><span class="gmail-author gmail-vcard"><a class="gmail-url gmail-fn gmail-n" href="http://loudounnow.com/author/dnadler/" title="Danielle Nadler">Danielle Nadler</a></span></span>
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<p>In a split vote Tuesday night, the Loudoun County School Board
declined to add “sexual orientation and gender identity” to the
protected characteristics listed in its equal employment policy.</p>
<p>Instead, the board unanimously voted to add a paragraph to the policy
that states the school system hires employees based on merit and
excellence. It also states that the board “recognizes and values the
diversity of the students and broader community it serves and encourages
diversity within its workforce.”</p>
<p>The School Board had twice delayed voting on the proposal policy in the wake of concerns raised by critics.</p>
<p>Eric Hornberger (Ashburn) offered the compromise. He said the new
paragraph was intended to go beyond the requirements of state and
federal law to highlight the school system’s values. “This is an
opportunity to say more … that we hire because of merit because we want
the best people working in our schools,” he said.</p>
<p>Four of the School Board members—Brenda Sheridan (Sterling), Beth
Huck (At Large), Tom Marshall (Leesburg) and Joy Maloney (Broad
Run)—settled for adding the paragraph, but said they preferred to
specifically spell out in policy that employees and applicants will not
be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or gender
identity.</p>
<p>Sheridan, who initially made the amendment to add the protective
language to policy, said she knows of several LGBTQ teachers who feel
they cannot put a picture of their spouse on their desk or bring their
spouse to a work holiday party because they fear that their jobs could
be at risk.</p>
<p>“Those are real stories in our school system,” she said. “I see you, I
hear you, I speak for you. I may not have a majority with me tonight,
but I will continue to use my voice and my position to stand with you.”</p>
<p>She also noted that the county board added the language to its
employee policy seven years ago, saying, “I can’t believe we’re seven
years behind the Board of Supervisors.”</p>
<figure id="gmail-attachment_29875" style="width:300px" class="gmail-wp-caption gmail-alignleft"><img class="gmail-size-medium gmail-wp-image-29875" src="http://loudounnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/sheridan-2-300x200.jpg" alt="" height="200" width="300"><figcaption class="gmail-wp-caption-text">School Board Vice Chairwoman Brenda Sheridan (Sterling). (Renss Greene/Loudoun Now)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Several board members said they received “nasty” and “hateful”
emails, from people on both sides of the debate. Beth Huck (At Large)
said those proved to her that the board should do all it can to
specifically protect members of the LGBT community.</p>
<p>In response to Bible verses that were read by several speakers ahead
of the vote by those opposed to the LGBT protection language, Huck asked
that they consider what their underlying faith teaches them. “My faith
teaches me to love and that judgment is not mine,” she said.</p>
<p>Chairman Jeff Morse (Dulles), Eric DeKenipp (Catcotin) and Debbie
Rose (Algonkian), who opposed the proposed policy change, said the board
should wait for more clear direction from the state and supreme courts,
which are both considering cases related to sexual orientation
protections and rights. “It’s not the School Board’s role to identify
our protected classes. It’s not our job,” DeKenipp said.</p>
<p>More than two dozen speakers addressed the board ahead of the vote. A
similar number of people spoke in favor of adding the language and
excluding it.</p>
<p>Charlotte McConnell, one of about a dozen people who spoke in support
of specifying gender identity in the anti-discrimination policy, said
that transgender people are more likely to face harassment on the job.
“We are living in uncertain times. I think it’s time we all stand up and
show that we appreciate them and we will protect them,” she said.</p>
<figure id="gmail-attachment_29877" style="width:300px" class="gmail-wp-caption gmail-alignright"><img class="gmail-size-medium gmail-wp-image-29877" src="http://loudounnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/turgeon-morse-300x200.jpg" alt="" height="200" width="300"><figcaption class="gmail-wp-caption-text">School Board member Jill Turgeon (Blue Ridge) and Chairman Jeff Morse (Dulles). (Renss Greene/Loudoun Now)</figcaption></figure>
<p>Bethany Kozma, of Fairfax County, where the School Board recently
adopted similar language, said the change in policy could lead to a
slippery slope that ultimately allows a male gym teacher who identifies
as a woman to shower in the girls’ locker room with students. “You could
potentially be opening your students up to sexual harassment,” she
said.</p>
<p>The School Board also got the 2 cents of Loudoun County native and
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D). Ahead of Tuesday’s decision,
he wrote a letter urging them to add the specific language to policy to
protect all of its employees and students, following an official legal
opinion he wrote in 2015 about school boards’ authority to enact
non-discrimination policies.</p>
<p>“I concluded in that opinion that local school boards have the
authority to protect their students and teachers from discrimination,
including on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity,” he
wrote.</p>
<p>Still, Will Estrada, chairman of the Loudoun County Republican
Committee, warned School Board members Tuesday night that they may face
legal challenges if they add “sexual orientation, gender identity”
anti-discrimination wording to its policy. Fairfax County Public
Schools’ adoption of a similar policy is being challenged in court.</p>
<p>“What this is is a solution in search of a problem,” he said. “There
is no evidence that Loudoun teachers, principals, and staff are being
discriminated against because of their sexual orientation.”</p>
<p>Connie Rice, a transgender woman who lives in Leesburg, told the
board that transgender people should not be seen as the predators but
vulnerable individuals in need of protection. “They are the most
attacked people group. There are no cases of transgender people
attacking people in bathrooms,” she said. “What’s the problem here? Is
it just our mere presence or our mere appearance? Because that is the
definition of discrimination.”</p><p><a href="http://loudounnow.com/2017/01/11/loudoun-school-board-opposes-lgbt-protection-language/">http://loudounnow.com/2017/01/11/loudoun-school-board-opposes-lgbt-protection-language/</a><br></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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