Victory: Big Win for Parents Against SOGI Policies
Last week was a BIG win for the parents and students of Amherst County when the Amherst County Public School Board – as a result of the backlash from outraged parents – was forced to “table” a proposed policy that would pressure every student and teacher into embracing the “LGBTQ” ideology. The proposal sought to add the concepts of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” (SOGI) to the school district’s policy on sexual harassment – presumably allowing boys to use the girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms, and subjecting anyone to punishment should they choose not to go along with another student/teacher’s new “preferred gender pronouns.”
The decision to table the policy (i.e., a nice way of defeating it for now without actually voting no) was due to the many Amherst residents who responded to our Action Alert by emailing School Board members, parents testifying in-person at the September 10th meeting, and our team working with a courageous school board member to get the word out!
Incredibly, within just twenty-four hours of the meeting, some 4,000 Amherst residents had viewed the recorded School Board meeting. You can watch the entire meeting HERE. The outrage prompted some of the obviously defensive School Board members to issue the following statement, seemingly attacking our email alert and the comments by some Amherst residents:
We encourage you to read the policies for yourself at the following link: 3.05 Consider approval of the Proposed Revisions to the Amherst County Public Schools Policy Manual
These proposed policies are intended to create an “educational and workplace environment that is free from harassment,” but in actuality they will have a chilling effect on free speech. There can be little doubt that under the proposed policies, any student, teacher or school administrator who refuses to use a student’s or employee’s “preferred gender pronouns” will be reprimanded by the school, in the same way that former West Point High School teacher, Peter Vlaming was fired for this very reason after the Board passed a similar policy.
The Board claims these policies have nothing to do with restrooms and locker rooms, but the general “Nondiscrimination” policy (see document titled: AC RL (Presented 7.9.2020).docx) states: “This commitment prevails in all of its policies and practices concerning staff, students, educational programs and services, and individuals and entities with whom the Board does business.” Therefore, any staff or student who denies a person access to the dressing area or bathroom of the opposite biological sex would be in violation of these proposed anti-harassment policies.
Just because the General Assembly passed several pieces of legislation elevating “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to a special protected class throughout the Virginia Code doesn’t mean that duly elected, autonomous local bodies must adopt similar policies. It’s vital that parents and concerned citizens monitor and oppose these “SOGI” non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies within their own locality, in the same way the residents of Amherst did. We have seen that, with a little effort and on short notice, parents can defeat these trojan horses. Once policies like these are officially adopted, they will become the basis for even more policies that further violate a student’s or school employee’s personal convictions.
Be sure to check into what your locality’s School Board is up to in its attempt to pass these SOGI policies, and let us know if we can help you become just like Amherst!
