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Karl Frisch sworn in with banned books

Fairfax County School Board member is incoming chair

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Fairfax County School Board member Karl Frisch taking the oath of office on Dec. 13, 2023, on a stack on LGBTQ books banned in other school systems. (YouTube FCPS YouTube screenshot)

Fairfax County School Board member Karl Frisch was sworn into office on Dec. 13 as the newly elected chair during the boardā€™s regular meeting session.

Currently the boardā€™s vice chairman, Frisch won reelection last month by more than 30 points and received a larger share of the vote (67 percent) and more total votes than in 2019, when he secured more votes than any school board candidate in Providence District history.

Frisch was elected as the boardā€™s Providence District representative in 2019, becoming the boardā€™s first openly gay member. Since assuming office, Frisch has been a vocal advocate for LGBTQ rights and the American Civil Liberties Union, Capital Pride, FCPS Pride and other organizations have recognized him for it.

Following Dec. 13’s oath of office, the new board remains not only entirely Democratic but also diverse like the community it serves, with one Black member, one Hispanic member, two Indian American members, one Korean American member, three LGBTQ members, and three immigrant members. Additionally, women are the boardā€™s majority, with seven members.

Frisch was sworn in on a stack of the five LGBTQ-themed books most frequently banned by other school systems. Those books included ā€œLawn Boy,ā€ ā€œGender Queer,ā€ ā€œFlamerā€ and ā€œAll Boys Arenā€™t Blue,ā€ all of which have been criticized and flagged by other schools for sexual content. His action mirroring that of newly appointed Central Bucks Board of School Director Karen Smith in Bucks County, Pa. 

Unlike other her newly sworn fellow board members who placed their hands on the more traditional Bible, Smith opted to use a stack of books on LGBTQ themes and race that had been banned by the previous board.

In a short speech, Frisch told the audience gathered in the auditorium: ā€œFairfax County residents want safe and inclusive schools with exceptional, well-compensated educators and equitable access to the rigorous academic and enrichment opportunities every student needs to succeed. I am grateful for the trust Providence District families have placed in me, and with tonightā€™s oath, I commit to standing strong for these values and advancing these priorities with my new and returning colleagues.ā€

Conservatives and right wing Christian groups expressed dismay and anger over Frischā€™s actions. 

The Convention of States, a far-right political action group, said: ā€œFrisch has emerged as an enemy to one of the most fundamental rights in human society ā€” a parentā€™s right to educate their kids according to their values. But more than that, by openly promoting pornography in a K-12 school, he has crossed a line that should be universally condemned.ā€

Former Trump White House Strategic Communications Director Mercedes Schlapp called it; ā€œDisgusting.ā€

Chris Stigall, a right leaning talk-show radio host for Philadelphiaā€™s AM-990 and Salem News Channel said; ā€œThis is the Leftā€™s new thing. The new Central Bucks, Pa., School District president did the same. Itā€™s not just shoving graphic materials in kidsā€™ faces, itā€™s also extending a middle finger to believers at the same time.ā€

Christian conservative radio host and author Eric Metaxas said of Frisch; ā€œWe have never before seen American figures publicly mock God like this. It is a chilling thing. Pray for this nation every day. We are in a spiritual war between good and evil. God deliver us.ā€

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Virginia

Virginia High School League reverses policy on transgender athletes

Trans athletes previously allowed to compete on teams that corresponded with gender identity

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Virginia flag flies over the state Capitol. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Virginia High School League on Monday announced it will no longer allow transgender athletes to compete on teams that correspond with their gender identity following another executive order signed by President Donald Trump targeting trans people.

The VHSL announced their policy change on their X account. It undoes a 2023 announcement that said it would not change their policy that allowed trans athletes to compete on teams that affirmed their identities.

Following a Jan. 28 executive order signed that stopped hospitals and other medical institutions from providing gender-affirming care to minors under that age of 19, Trump on Feb. 5 signed another executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

The ban seeks ā€œto rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls.ā€ The NCAA and many other educational institutions agreed to implement the ban in fear of losing federal funding.

“The VHSL is an association comprising 318 member schools with more than 177,000 students participating yearly in sports and academic activities. The VHSL is the governing body, and our member schools look to and rely on the VHSL for policy and guidance. To that end, the VHSL will comply with the executive order,” said VHSL Executive Director John W. “Billy” Haun. “The compliance will provide membership clear and consistent direction.”

The VHSL also said staff will be making changes to their handbook and policy manual in the coming days, reminiscent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scrubbing all of the papers in its database of any now-banned language regarding LGBTQ people and attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The VHSL’s own data indicates only 29 of the student athletes it oversees have been reported as trans since 2022.

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Va. Senate committee tables three anti-transgender bills

Measures targeted trans student athletes, gender-affirming care for minors

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Virginia lawmakers this week killed three anti-transgender bills.

The Virginia Senate Health and Education Committee on Thursday tabled Senate Bill 749, which would have banned trans athletes from school sports teams that correspond with their gender identity. The same committee on Thursday tabled a similar measure, Senate Bill 1079.

The committee on Thursday also tabled Senate Bill 1074, which would have made it “unlawful for any individual to provide gender transition procedures, defined in the bill, for minors and prohibits the use of public funds for gender transition procedures.”

“All students deserve to play and to have access to essential healthcare,” said the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia on Thursday in a social media post.

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Va. Senate approves resolution to repeal marriage amendment

Two successive legislatures must approve proposal before it goes to voters

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(Bigstock photo)

The Virginia Senate on Tuesday approved a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

The resolution that state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) introduced passed by a 24-15 vote margin. An identical measure that state Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County) has proposed passed in the Virginia House of Delegates last week.

Sickles and Ebbin are both gay.

Voters approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment in 2006.

Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin last year signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.

The General Assembly in 2021 approved a resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment. It must pass in two successive legislatures before it can go to the ballot.

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