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One of the cases was filed in state court by a transgender high
school girl in York County, who said she was "singled out" by
one teacher who refused to use her name and pronouns and instead
used only her last name.
The other case was brought in state court by a transgender
middle school girl who said she has been barred from
participating in a girls' sports team.
Both lawsuits allege that the guidance, which was issued last
year by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin's administration,
runs afoul of a 2020 law requiring the state's Department of
Education to develop policies that protect transgender students'
rights. They are asking the courts to set aside the policies.
The Department of Education and Youngkin's office did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.
Youngkin's policy, which has drawn pushback from some districts
in the state, also says students must use bathrooms
corresponding to their sex assigned at birth, and that teachers
may not use transgender students' preferred names and pronouns
without permission from their parents.
Thursday's lawsuits join several others in courts around the
country over school policies affecting transgender students.
Virginia's highest court in December revived a lawsuit by a high
school French teacher who was fired for refusing on religious
grounds to use a transgender student's preferred pronouns.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is weighing whether to
revive a lawsuit by parents challenging a Massachusetts school
district's policy of not telling parents if their children have
begun using different names or pronouns at school. The 4th
Circuit rejected a challenge by parents to a similar policy in a
Maryland school district last August.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Daniel
Wallis)
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