Virginia
Federal judge rules in favor of trans Va. student blocked from girls’ sports team
‘Janie Doe’ is 11-year-old middle schooler in Hanover County
A federal judge has ruled in favor of a transgender student in Hanover County who was prevented from playing on her school’s girls’ tennis team because of her gender identity.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, which filed a lawsuit last month on behalf of the 11-year-old middle school student who is identified as “Janie Doe,” notes on its website that U.S. District Court Judge M. Hannah Lauck issued her ruling on Aug. 16.
Lauck, according to the ACLU of Virginia, found the Hanover County School Board “likely violated Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution” when it prevented the student from joining her school’s tennis team in 2023.
“Janie has established that the board excluded her, on the basis of sex, from participating in an education program when it denied her application to try out for (and if selected, to participate on) her school’s girls’ tennis team,” wrote Lauck.
The ACLU of Virginia notes Lauck added the school board’s actions “contravene the strong public interest in educational institutions being free of discrimination of all kinds.”
The lawsuit that the ACLU of Virginia and WilmerHale, a Washington-based law firm, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond notes the school board voted not to allow Doe to “participate in” the girls’ tennis team, even though “she successfully qualified during tryouts, and her parents provided documentation requested by the school board to establish her eligibility.”
“At the heart of this case is an 11-year-old who loves tennis and just wants to try out with her friends for the team she already made last year,” said ACLU of Virginia Senior Transgender Rights Attorney Wyatt Rolla on Monday in a press release. “By singling out a transgender student in their district, the adults on the Hanover County School Board bullied Janie and violated nondiscrimination protections that are there to make sure public schools include all students.”
The Biden-Harris administration earlier this year released its final Title IX rules that specifically protect discrimination against LGBTQ students based on their gender identity and sexual orientation. The new regulations took effect on Aug. 1. (The U.S. Supreme Court on Aug. 16 in a 5-4 ruling said the new regulations cannot take effect in states that have challenged them in federal court.)
Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is among the state attorneys general who pledged to block the new Title IX rules from taking effect.
“We are happy that the Supreme Court rejected the Biden-Harris administration’s attempt to narrow the district court’s ruling which prevented the administration’s Title IX rewrite from going into effect in Virginia,” said Miyares in a statement to Virginia Public Radio.
The Virginia Department of Education in July 2023 announced new guidelines for trans and nonbinary students for which Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin asked.
Advocacy groups maintain the guidelines, among other things would forcibly out trans and nonbinary students. Arlington County Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools, and Prince William County Schools are among the school districts that have refused to implement them.
“This ruling should make every school board — not just Hanover — think twice before using VDOE’s model policies to justify discrimination against its students,” said Rolla.
A gay man was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Saamel and Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate Sanchez-McCray, 42, was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray shot to death inside a home in Petersburg.
Sanchez-McCray’s brother, Jamal Mitchell Diamond, in a public statement the Washington Blade received from Equality Virginia and GLAAD, said Sanchez-McCray was not transgender as initial reports indicated.
“Our family has always embraced the fullness of who he was. He used the names Saamel, Shyyell, and Mable interchangeably, and we honor all of them. There is no division within our family regarding how he is being represented — only a shared commitment to preserving his truth with love and respect,” said Diamond.
“He was also deeply committed to community work through Nationz Foundation, where he worked and completed multiple state-certified programs to support marginalized communities,” added Diamond. “That work meant a great deal to him.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
Virginia
Va. lawmakers consider partial restoration of Ryan White funds
State Department of Health in 2025 cut $20 million from Part B program
The Virginia General Assembly is considering the partial restoration of HIV funding that the state’s Department of Health cut last year.
The Department of Health in 2025 cut $20 million — or 67 percent of total funding — from the Ryan White Part B program.
The funding cuts started with the Trump-Vance administration passing budget cuts to federal HIV screening and protection programs. Rebate issues between the Virginia Department of Health and the company that provides HIV medications began.
Advocates say the funding cuts have disproportionately impacted lower-income people.
The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, a federal program started in 1990, provides medical services, public education, and essential services. Part B offers 21 services, seven of which remained funded after the budget cuts.
Equality Virginia notes “in 2025, a 67 percent reduction severely destabilized HIV services across the commonwealth.”
Virginia lawmakers have approved two bills — House Bill 30 and Senate Bill 30 — that would partially restore the funding. The Ryan White cuts remain a concern among community members.
Both chambers of the General Assembly must review their proposed changes before lawmakers can adopt the bills.
“While these amendments aren’t a full restoration of what community-based organizations lost, this marks a critical step toward stabilizing care for thousands of Virginians living with HIV,” said Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman. “Equality Virginia plans to continue their contact with lawmakers and delegates through the conference and up until the passing of the budget.”
“We appreciate lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who recognized the urgency of this moment and will work to ensure funding remains in the final version signed by the governor,” added Rahaman.
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UPDATED: Trans-led HIV clinic in Portsmouth struggles amid funding cuts
