There is a growing trend among some public schools to keep parents in the dark about their own children’s health and well-being. Not only that, but some districts are forcing teachers to be complicit in this deception by compelling them to lie or withhold information about students from their parents.
Such was the case with Harrisonburg City Public Schools (HCPS) in Virginia.
Prior to the 2021-2022 school year, HCPS modified its nondiscrimination policy to add “gender identity” to its list of protected classes. It then developed and issued guidance that detailed new requirements related to students and parents that teachers were told to “immediately implement.”
These new requirements included the directive that HCPS staff must ask for and use any name or pronoun a student requests, even if inconsistent with the student’s sex. It also required staff to hide such requests from parents unless HCPS employees determined the child’s parents were sufficiently “supportive” of their child’s “transition.”
Thankfully, three Virginia teachers took a stand for free speech, religious freedom, and parental rights.
Caring for every student
Deb Figliola, Kris Marsh, and Laura Nelson have a wide range of expertise and experience. Between them, they have taught special education, reading, and English as a second language (ESL) with tenures ranging from 10 to 32 years. Each of these teachers has taught children from all walks of life and cares deeply about every student, including a growing number who are struggling with questions of gender identity.
These teachers recognize that a policy of immediate “social transition” and unquestioning affirmation of a child’s perceived gender identity without parental involvement is harmful, not to mention contrary to science. Each child’s situation is unique and warrants loving and tailored attention that is best determined by parents, not school officials acting on their own.
HCPS’s harmful policy
In 2021, HCPS detailed its new requirements in a presentation to HCPS staff. The presentation specifically states that HCPS staff must “Always utilize a student’s preferred name and pronouns” (emphasis in original).
The presentation also directed staff that “All communication should be in collaboration with the student,” not the student’s parents, and “If the parent/guardian is NOT aware, you should utilize the student’s preferred name at school but not in any communication with the parent/guardian” (emphases in original). In other words, HCPS staff were directed to hide information about a student’s struggle with gender identity from that student’s parents.
Standing for the rights of teachers and parents
HCPS’s requirements violated multiple rights protected by the Virginia Constitution. First, parents have the right to direct the upbringing of their children in accordance with their family’s values, especially on essential matters like their children’s education or health care. But HCPS violated those rights by instructing teachers to leave parents in the dark when it comes to profound decisions that involve the well-being of their own children.
Second, the Virginia Constitution not only protects what people can say but also what they cannot in good conscience say. Teachers should not be compelled to speak such messages to students or lie to parents about the parents’ own children. Referring to students using preferred names and pronouns that differ from their biological sex carries a message about gender identity.
Finally, public schools cannot require teachers to personally affirm an ideology that they believe is untrue and harmful to students. Government employees cannot be forced to lie or deny their core beliefs just to keep a job. The teachers involved in this case have sincerely held religious beliefs that govern and inform their views about human nature, gender identity, and speaking the truth.
In June 2022, Alliance Defending Freedom challenged the HCPS policy on behalf of Deb, Kris, and Laura to protect these important freedoms. And following a favorable Virginia Supreme Court ruling in another ADF case, Vlaming v. West Point School Board, and while the teachers’ motion for summary judgment was pending with the court, HCPS agreed to resolve the case, affirming that moving forward it would respect the constitutional rights of the teachers.
In the agreed order filed with the court in December 2024, HCPS agreed that it would accommodate our clients’ religious beliefs. It also clarified that HCPS will not require staff to ask students for “preferred” pronouns and it won’t require staff to use “preferred” names or pronouns. HCPS also reversed course on its prior instructions and acknowledged it “does not support hiding or withholding information from parents.”
HCPS said it will continue informing staff that similar religious accommodations are available so that employees can do their jobs in accordance with their beliefs. This is great news because it affirms that under HCPS’s current policy, no teacher will be required to ask for or use “preferred” pronouns, and the district will not support any staff member hiding information about a student’s gender identity from their parents.
Figliola v. The School Board of The City of Harrisonburg
- August 2021: Harrisonburg City Public Schools modified its nondiscrimination policy to include gender identity and developed guidance on the treatment of students identifying as “transgender.”
- January 2022: Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter to Harrisonburg City Public Schools on behalf of a group of concerned parents and teachers. The letter asked HCPS to rescind its policy that requires all staff members to affirm a student’s gender identity by using any name and pronoun the student requests while affirmatively hiding this from the student’s parents.
- April 2022: After receiving a response from the district, ADF attorneys sent a second letter reiterating how “HCPS’ policy and practice too often excludes, deceives, and usurps the role of parents.”
- June 2022: ADF filed a complaint against HCPS for usurping the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children and violating the religious beliefs and free speech rights of school staff.
- October 2024: ADF attorneys filed a motion for summary judgment with the Rockingham County Circuit Court asking the court to decide the case without a trial.
- December 2024: To resolve the case, the Harrisonburg City School Board agreed to respect the constitutional right of its teachers to do their jobs in accordance with their religious beliefs.
