ARLINGTON, Va. — Several school districts in Northern Virginia have pushed back against the federal government after the Trump administration claimed they violated Title IX by allowing transgender and nonbinary students to access locker rooms and bathrooms aligned with their gender identity.
During the gubernatorial election in November, GOP candidate Winsome Earle-Sears campaigned against expanding access for transgender students, but voters indicated this issue was not top of mind for them.
“The election results really showed that the reverse is true,” Temple University law professor Dara Purvis said. “The majority of Virginians don’t care because they don’t see inclusion of trans children as a problem.”
Even so, Purvis says transgender youth and their families still face many challenges at school.
“There is voluminous evidence that facing hostility, and being excluded from spaces, being denied recognition of your gender has extremely negative emotional and mental effects,” she said.
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