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DeVos: It’s OK if states discriminate against LGBT students
Education sec’y also won’t denounce racial discrimination
Betsy DeVos refused to denounce discrimination against LGBT students.
(Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Under a grilling during a congressional hearing Wednesday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos refused to say she’ll speak out against discrimination against LGBT students — or even students experiencing racial discrimination.
Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) pressed DeVos during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Lighthouse Christian Academy, a private school in Indiana the lawmaker says is the recipient school voucher money, but may not admit students from families with “homosexual or bisexual activity” or “practicing alternate identity.”
Clark asked DeVos, who’s advocating a budget that calls for a $250 million increase in school voucher funds, if she’ll “stand up that this school will be open to all students.”
DeVos first dodged the question, saying she’ll like to defer to earlier comment from lawmaker, and still refused to denounce the policy when asked to draw a line on state flexibility and reject money for schools discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, race or special needs.
“For states who have programs that allow for parents to make choices, they set up the rules around that,” DeVos said.
Pressed further by Clark on whether the Education Department would withhold school vouchers on any situation regarding discrimination, DeVos again refused to answer.
“The Office of Civil Rights and our Title IX protections are broadly applicable across the board,” DeVos said. “But when it comes to parents making choices on behalf of their students…”
Davis interrupting by saying “this isn’t about parents making choices, this is about use of federal dollars,” and pressed DeVos who provided a non-answer about flexibility.
“So, if I understand your testimony,” Davis responded, “I want to make sure I get this right. There’s no situation of discrimination or exclusion that if a state approved it for its voucher program, that you would step and say that’s now how we’re going to use our federal dollars? There’s no situation, if the state approved it, that you would put the state flexibility over our students? Is that your testimony?”
DeVos began to say the situation was “hypothetical,” but Davis responded the situation was real and pointed to Lighthouse Christian Academy. At this point, the Republican chair of the committee informed Davis her time had expired.
“The bottom line is we believe that parents are the best equipped to make choices for their children’s schooling and education decisions, and too many children today are trapped in schools that don’t work for them,” DeVos said. “We have to do something different, we have to do something different than continuing a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach, and that is the focus, and states and local communities are best equipped to make these decisions and framework on behalf of their students.”
Davis, seemingly exasperated, concluded, “I am shocked that you could not come up with one example of discrimination that you would stand up for students.”
David Stacy, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, was among those denouncing DeVos for refusing to denounce anti-LGBT discrimination.
“Taxpayer funds should never be used to discriminate against LGBTQ students, and it is shocking and disappointing that Secretary DeVos won’t make this basic commitment,” Stacy said. “Secretary DeVos has failed again to stand up for all students and ensure every child is able to receive an education free from harassment and discrimination.”
Federal law against discrimination in schools also prohibits charter and private schools from discriminating against students. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin for any school accepting federal funds, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex for any school accepting federal funds. There is an exemption in Title IX for religious schools, but not for charter or secular private schools.
DeVos, who was narrowly confirmed by the Senate, has been a controversial figure and despised by charter school opponents for her support for school vouchers.
Earlier this year, DeVos and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions revoked Obama-era guidance barring schools from discriminating against transgender students or denying them access to the restroom consistent with their gender identity.
Media reports indicated she resisted the change, but she ultimately agreed to it. Afterwards, DeVos met with transgender students and a trio of LGBT advocacy groups at the Education Department.
Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO of GLAAD, also denounced DeVos and said the education secretary was “turning a blind eye to LGBTQ students who experience discrimination in school.”
“DeVos once claimed she was an LGBTQ ally, but has now supported back to back policies that would erase LGBTQ students from classrooms,” Ellis said. “If she wants to be known as more than an anti-LGBTQ activist the time is now to reverse course.”
h/t Huffington Post
Congress
McBride, other US lawmakers travel to Denmark
Trump’s demand for Greenland’s annexation overshadowed trip
Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride is among the 11 members of Congress who traveled to Denmark over the past weekend amid President Donald Trump’s continued calls for the U.S. to take control of Greenland.
McBride, the first openly transgender person elected to Congress, traveled to Copenhagen, the Danish capital, with U.S. Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), and Sarah Jacobs (D-Calif.). The lawmakers met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic MP Pipaluk Lynge, among others.
“I’m grateful to Sen. Coons for his leadership in bringing together a bipartisan, bicameral delegation to reaffirm our support in Congress for our NATO ally, Denmark,” said McBride in a press release that detailed the trip. “Delaware understands that our security and prosperity depend on strong partnerships rooted in mutual respect, sovereignty, and self-determination. At a time of growing global instability, this trip could not be more poignant.”
Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark with a population of less than 60,000 people. Trump maintains the U.S. needs to control the mineral-rich island in the Arctic Ocean between Europe and North America because of national security.
The Associated Press notes thousands of people on Saturday in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, protested against Trump. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is among those who have criticized Trump over his suggestion the U.S. would impose tariffs against countries that do not support U.S. annexation of Greenland.
A poll that Sermitsiaq, a Greenlandic newspaper, and Berlingske, a Danish newspaper, commissioned last January indicates 85 percent do not want Greenland to become part of the U.S. The pro-independence Demokraatit party won parliamentary elections that took place on March 12, 2025.
“At this critical juncture for our countries, our message was clear as members of Congress: we value the U.S.-Denmark partnership, the NATO alliance, and the right of Greenlanders to self-determination,” said McBride on Sunday in a Facebook post that contained pictures of her and her fellow lawmakers meeting with their Danish and Greenlandic counterparts.
Virginia
Two gay candidates running in ‘firehouse’ Va. House of Delegates primary in Alexandria
Kirk McPike, Gregory Darrall hope to succeed delegate vying for Ebbin’s seat
Gay Alexandria City Council member Kirk McPike and gay public school teacher Gregory Darrall, who serves as vice president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, are among four candidates running in a Jan. 20 “firehouse” Democratic primary for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates.
With less than a week’s notice, Democratic Party officials in Alexandria called the primary to select a Democratic nominee to run in a Feb. 10 special election to fill the 5th House District seat being vacated by state Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria).
Bennett-Parker won the Democratic nomination for the Virginia Senate seat being vacated by gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), who is resigning from the seat to take a position in the administration of Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who took office on Jan. 17.
Bennett-Parker won the nomination for the state Senate seat in yet another firehouse primary on Jan. 13 in which she defeated three other candidates, including gay former state Del. Mark Levine.
The Jan. 20 primary in which McPike and Darrall are competing will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. in two polling places in Alexandria: the Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library at 5005 Duke St. and the Charles Houston Recreation Center at 901 Wythe St.
The other two candidates running are former Alexandria City School Board member Eileen Cassidy Rivera and criminal law defense attorney Chris Leibig.
McPike, who first won election to the Alexandria City Council in 2021, served for 13 years as chief of staff for gay U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) prior to winning election to the Alexandria City Council.
“Now, Kirk is ready to bring his experience to Richmond to keep improving the lives of all Virginians as our delegate for House District 5,” his campaign website says. His website writeup says he and his husband, Cantor Jason Kaufman, have lived in Alexandria’s Seminary Hill neighborhood for 15 years.
“As delegate, we can count on Kirk to keep delivering for us — helping Virginia maintain our commitments to our schools, our first responders, and our efforts to address climate change, housing affordability, and infrastructure,” the website statement says.
McPike, a longtime LGBTQ rights supporter and advocate, has been endorsed by Ebbin and U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). Beyer said in a statement that McPike “has a proven track record of delivering results for Alexandrians.” The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, which raises money for LGBTQ candidates running for public office, has also endorsed McPike.
Darrall’s campaign website says he is a “proud progressive, lifelong educator, and labor leader running to put people first.” It says he is a political newcomer “with more than 20 years in the classroom” as a teacher who played a key role in the successful unionization of Fairfax Public Schools.
“He is a proud member and staunch supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community,” his website statement says. It says he met his husband Jose while living in Miami and the two operated a small business in South Florida for a decade before moving to Alexandria in 2015. It adds that Darrall is “fluent in Spanish, loves walking Alexandria’s neighborhoods, and is driven by a deep belief in fairness, equality, and strengthening our democracy from the ground up.”
The Alexandria Republican City Committee nominated local business executive Mason Butler as the Republican nominee for the House of Delegates seat in the Feb. 10 special election after he emerged as the only GOP candidate running for the seat, according to the Alexandria Brief publication. He will face the Democratic winner in the Jan. 20 firehouse primary.
The Washington Blade is seeking to determine GOP candidate Butler’s and Democratic candidates Leibig’s and Rivera’s positions on LGBTQ-related issues and will update this story if their positions on those issues can be determined.
Abigail Spanberger was sworn in as the 75th governor of Virginia at a ceremony on the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol on Saturday. Thousands of spectators watched the swearing-in ceremony and parade, despite the rain and temperatures in the low 40s.
Spanberger, a member of the Democratic Party and an LGBTQ ally, became the first woman to be Virginia’s governor.
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Newly-elected Attorney General Jay Jones, Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, and Spanberger were each administered the oath of office in the public ceremony.
Republican former Gov. Glenn Youngkin left the ceremony shortly after the oath of office was administered to Spanberger and before the inaugural address.
In her speech, the new governor made an appeal to bipartisanship and looking past division in our current moment.
“To my friends in the General Assembly — on both sides of the aisle — I look forward to working with you,” said Spanberger. “I know what it means to represent your constituents, to work hard for your district, and to pursue policies you believe in. We will not agree on everything, but I speak from personal experience when I say that we do not have to see eye-to-eye on every issue in order to stand shoulder-to-shoulder on others.”
Spanberger acknowledged Virginians’ frustrations with federal layoffs and governmental policy.
“I know many of you are worried about the recklessness coming out of Washington. You are worried about policies that are hurting our communities — cutting healthcare access, imperiling rural hospitals, and driving up costs,” said Spanberger. “You are worried about Washington policies that are closing off markets, hurting innovation and private industry, and attacking those who have devoted their lives to public service.”
Spanberger alluded to the Trump administration, though never mentioned President Donald Trump’s name in her remarks.
Spanberger said, “you are worried about an administration that is gilding buildings while schools crumble, breaking the social safety net, and sowing fear across our communities, betraying the values of who we are as Americans, the very values we celebrate here on these steps.”
The new governor then spoke of her priorities in office, pledging to tackle housing affordability by working to “cut red tape” and increase housing supply. Spanberger also spoke of forestalling an impending healthcare crisis by protecting access and cracking down on “middlemen who are driving up drug prices.”
Spanberger spoke of investments in education at every level, standing up for workers (including the large number of federal workers in Virginia), and taking action on gun violence.
Virginia married couple Mary Townley and Carol Schall witnessed the inauguration ceremony from the stands set up on the grounds of the Capitol. Schall and Townley are one of the plaintiff couples in the case that challenged the Virginia constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage became legal in Virginia in 2014.
“We are delighted with the inauguration of Abigail Spanberger as governor of Virginia,” Schall told the Washington Blade. “The celebration of her inauguration was full of the beautiful diversity that is Virginia. The Virginia Pride contingent was included as a part of what makes Virginia a great place to live.”
“Such an honor to attend such a wonderful event in Virginia history,” Townley told the Blade. “The weather before the Inauguration was cold and rainy, but I believe it represented the end of a dreary time and it ushered in the dry and sunny weather by the end of the inaugural parade. Madam Governor brought us to the light!”
The inaugural parade following the governor’s remarks included a contingent from Diversity Richmond and Virginia Pride. Marchers in the LGBTQ contingent carried a giant Progress Pride flag and were met with loud cheers from the gathered spectators.
Spanberger after her inauguration signed 10 executive orders. One of them bans discrimination against state employees based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and other factors.
“By virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor under Article V of the Constitution of
Virginia, I hereby declare that it is the firm and unwavering policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia to ensure equal opportunity in all facets of state government,” reads the executive order. “The foundational tenet of this executive order is premised upon a steadfast commitment to foster a culture of inclusion, diversity, and mutual respect for all Virginians.”
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