ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Wednesday that he is leading a 21-state coalition in filing an amicus brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to uphold the dismissal of lawsuits filed by the Fairfax County School Board and the Arlington School Board.
The Northern Virginia school divisions argue that the Fourth Circuit’s decision in Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board requires them to maintain policies that allow students to access the bathrooms and locker rooms based on self-declared gender identity, not biological sex.
“Nothing in Title IX, its regulations, or the Grimm decision requires school divisions to adopt sweeping policies that disregard basic privacy protections or put student safety at risk. Privacy and safety are not partisan issues. They are fundamental expectations in every Virginia school,” Miyares said. “The school divisions’ effort to twist Grimm far beyond its actual holding is unsupported by law and profoundly irresponsible. The district court made the proper call, and the Fourth Circuit should uphold it. Fairfax and Arlington are not exempt from following the law, and their reckless choices make clear that protecting children was never their priority.”…