Gender Ideology in FCPS: From Inclusiveness to Suggestive Persuasion

Fairfax County Public Schools’ policy has moved beyond simple “inclusiveness” to the power of suggestive persuasion in matters of students’ gender identity. A person might not be hungry, but made to entertain the possibility that they would like to eat, with offers of food and the smell of bacon. Similarly, children going through a teenage identity crisis of any kind might not have ever considered taking a route of gender dysphoria or transgenderism until they were offered privileged status and options for it. In the first week of school, public schools across Fairfax County surveyed students regarding their pronouns and preferred names.

In Irving Middle School, for example, school counselors told students that they had to complete a survey with several personal questions by the end of the second week of school. In May 2022, FCPS teachers were notably forced to participate in “gender expansive training”, which explained that they were forbidden from informing parents of these pronouns and name changes. I emailed Principal Cynthia Conley to attain the details of the survey. She told me that the survey was “not mandatory”. Students at Irving, however, said they were never told the survey was optional.

The survey is problematic for a few reasons. Aside from the pronouns and “nicknames” questions, the survey further poses the question, “Name an adult you can trust to talk to if you are having a problem (in or out of school).” Why does school staff need to specifically know which adults students trust? That information is not their business and is illustrative of the wedge that public schools are trying to create between students and their parents. When a student is having an issue, the school should contact the student’s parents. Period.

Finally, the survey asks students who in their family attended college: “Have any of your following family members attended college? A. Mom, B. Dad, C. Other Guardian, D. Sister, E. Brother, or F. None of these.” Ms. Conley informed me that this question is posed so that the school staff “can introduce the students [without college exposure] to College Partnership which introduces the students to information about college and the club takes a trip each year to one of the colleges in Virginia or DC.” But why would counselors and administrators need to know specifically which family members attended college? This question is either poorly written, or another example of a public school gathering extraneous information and reaching far outside of its jurisdiction and undervaluing the trades.

The purpose of public education is to teach students math, reading, science and fact-based history. Fairfax County Public Schools are doing poorly right now. The recently released 2022 SOL pass rates show that after more than a year of virtual learning, Fairfax County students are still significantly below where they were before the pandemic (12% below in both math and science). School administrators and teachers need to focus on education, and get out of the parenting and identity domain.

By: Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, a concerned parent of three FCPS students and a member of the Independent Women’s Network.

IRVING MIDDLE SCHOOL SURVEY QUESTIONS – AUGUST 2022

1. Last Name

2. First Name

3. Student ID

4. Nickname, or what you like to be called

5. Do you have preferred/specific set of pronouns that you would like us to use?

6. Team

a. Black-Mrs. Kiefaber

b. White-Mrs. Kiefaber

c. Red-Ms. Nelson

d. Purple-Ms. Nelson

7. What are your top Natural Strengths or Character Traits?

8. What is an interesting fact about you, or what is something you like to do?

9. What future career or field are you interested in?

10. What are you most excited for in school this year?

11. What concerns do you have about school this year, or what is something you want to improve?

12. Name an adult you can trust to talk to if you are having a problem (in or out of school)

13. What are 2-3 strategies you can use to calm down if you get stressed?

14. Can you read and write in another language? If yes, what language?

15. Have any of your following family members attended college?

a. Mom

b. Dad

c. Other guardian

d. Sister

e. Brother

f. None of these

16. What else do you want your counselor to know to help us better understand you?