For generations, parents have been the first—and final—voice in how their children are raised.
They choose schools that align with their values, decide which lessons are appropriate, and guide the moral compass of their families.
From the bedtime stories they tell, to the conversations at the dinner table, parents shape the people their children become long before teachers ever set foot in a classroom. And parents will be there long after their children leave school.
Communities understand this simple principle: home comes first, and schools support (not supplant) parental guidance. It’s a trust that has endured for centuries.
Unfortunately, there has been 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 trying to force 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. Thankfully, there was a trio of teachers willing to fight back against such destructive policies, including Deb Figliola.
Who is Deb Figliola?
Deb was a special-education and English teacher at Skyline Middle School, a school in the HCPS Division. She was an educator for 28 years and, in August 2014, she began teaching at Skyline, where she focused on reading and literacy.
For Deb, helping children in need has always been a calling for her.
“I have long had a heart for kids with special needs and difficult backgrounds,” Deb said.
After homeschooling her own children and watching them thrive, she still felt a calling in her heart to continue helping educate children.
“When my children left for college, I felt a call to continue working with children and particularly those children with special educational needs,” said Deb.
That yearning would eventually take Deb to Skyline Middle School, a job she quickly became enamored with.
“I loved my work as a teacher at Skyline Middle School,” Deb explained. “I was able to give my students individualized attention and watch them gain critical literacy skills and grow into well-adjusted and successful students.”
By working closely with so many students, Deb came to learn that some of her students struggled with or questioned their gender.
“Through these experiences, I have seen the importance of parental involvement when a child is struggling with any deeply personal and life-changing concerns, even their gender identity.”
How HCPS put Deb Figliola and other teachers in an untenable situation
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 withhold that information from parents unless HCPS employees determined the child’s parents were sufficiently “supportive” of their child’s “transition.”
For teachers Deb Figliola, Kris Marsh, and Laura Nelson, that was simply unacceptable.
“Right away, I knew I’m being asked to lie,” Deb said. “And I’m not going to lie about something as important as who you are to a child.
“And I’m not going to lie to parents.”
And make no mistake, the school was very much asking teachers to engage in deception by omission. That much was made clear in a 2021 presentation.
The presentation specifically states that HCPS staff must “Always utilize a student’s preferred name and pronouns” (emphasis in original). The presentation also adds 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” (emphasis in original).
One slide effectively told teachers that all “communication should be in collaboration with the student,” adding that sharing this information with the student’s family is “highly detrimental.” That slide (pictured above) told teachers that parents and families should be left in the dark about these very serious conversations.
“We tell parents when a kid is failing,” Deb said. “We tell parents when the kid is getting all A’s. We tell parents when a kid is on the team, when they’ve been thrown off the team.
“We tell parents when they’ve been bullied, or they’re going to be, or they’re bullying, or when they’re in depression, or when they’re doing great. We tell parents everything, and we’re always encouraged to contact parents.
“And now we’re being told never to tell parents about this one issue.”
On top of Deb’s very salient point, these mandates also violated multiple rights protected by the Virginia Constitution. So, Alliance Defending Freedom stepped in on behalf of Deb and her fellow teachers.
ADF stands for teachers and parents like Deb Figliola
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 and healthcare. But HCPS undermined 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.
“I’m a parent,” Deb explains. “I don’t want to be lied to, and I don’t want to be the one lying to parents. Parents don’t deserve that.”
Also, 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 their own children. Referring to students using different names and inaccurate pronouns carries a message about gender identity.
Public schools cannot require teachers to personally affirm an ideology that they believe is untrue and also 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, biology, gender, and speaking the truth.
“I believe that God created the family and charged parents with the primary responsibility of raising, guiding, and caring for their children,” Deb said.
In June 2022, Alliance Defending Freedom challenged the HCPS policy on behalf of Deb, Kris, and Laura to protect these important freedoms. 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 favorably settle the case. The school district affirmed that moving forward, it would respect the constitutional rights of teachers and not require them to use pronouns inconsistent with a student’s sex.
In the agreed order filed with the court in December 2024, HCPS agreed that it would accommodate the teachers’ religious beliefs. It 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 stated that 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 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.
Deb Figliola and ADF both know how important this issue is for parents—and kids
“Parents are one of the most important pieces for kids,” Deb said. “The teacher or counselor or administrator who’s with them now knows them right now, but they’re not going to be there when that young person graduates and moves on and has struggles.
“They need their parents.” That is inarguable, and no school board has the right to supersede that. HCPS’s policies were harmful to children, parents, and teachers. That’s unacceptable. And that’s why ADF will always stand with those very same people—children, parents, and teachers—when these harmful policies sprout up. Will you give today to stand with them as well?
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