Local
Carroll Co. schools to look at transgender policies
Follows a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter from the U.S. Department of Education
Carroll County Public Schools will form a committee to evaluate regulations concerning transgender students.
This summer, Carroll County Public Schools will form a committee to evaluate regulations concerning transgender students in the school system. Based on a directive contained in a “Dear Colleague” letter from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice onMay 13 and an opinion released on May 25 from the Attorney General of Maryland, which states that Maryland public schools should comply with the directive, Superintendant Stephen Guthrie is moving forward, according to the Carroll County Times.
Guthrie wrote in an email on June 16 that the committee will “review all policies, regulations, procedures and practices to ensure that they comply with the Dear Colleague letter.” That letter states, according to the Times, “public schools must allow students to use restrooms that correspond to their gender identity or risk losing federal funding, and also addresses other related issues.”
Assistant Superintendent Steven Johnson will head the committee, which will include principals, teachers, students, parents and members of the community. A total of 60-70 people may be involved.
The Times states that Johnson plans to divide the committee into six subcommittees focusing on specific issues. Among them would be “bathrooms and locker rooms, overnight field trips, student dress codes, athletics, student records and any other policies that don’t fit into the other five categories,” Johnson said.
Joy Fisher, president of the Westminster-Carroll County chapter of PFLAG, wishes to be a member of the committee. She told the Times, “We are very pleased with what has transpired. It’s very encouraging.”
Anne Stoner, the chapter’s vice president and an instructional assistant for the district, told the Blade that she is very encouraged by the superintendent’s recent statement and email and has been asked to serve on one of the subcommittees. She had spoken to Johnson regarding the necessity to have LGBT community members and allies represented on each subcommittee.
“I have made the suggestion to Mr. Johnson that someone in the know make a formal presentation of current vocabulary, the law and the current guidelines so that all committee members have a deep understanding of what they are charged to do,” Stoner said. “This doesn’t solve all of our problems in the school system, but it will go a long way towards protecting and supporting all students.”
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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