“They don’t realize how large a part of their school those kids make up,” a queer middle school student told The Advocate.The AdvocateChristopher WigginsJan 15, 2026Just days before LGBTQ+ ally, Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, is set to replace Virginia’s anti-trans Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, when she is sworn in on Saturday, a rural school board has adopted a sweeping new policy restricting transgender students, while simultaneously continuing to block a proposed middle school Gender and Sexualities Alliance.The board’s moves prompted emotional warnings from students, parents, and educators who say the decisions could deepen bullying, isolation, and suicide risk for LGBTQ+ youth.On January 7, the King George County School Board unanimously adopted Policy JBB, which requires school staff to refer to students only by the name and pronouns on the student’s record, without discussing the matter. The policy bars recognition of a student’s affirmed name or gender identity in official records, restricts bathroom access, overnight travel accommodations, and participation in sex-segregated activities based on sex assigned at birth, and limits any deviation from those rules to cases in which parents provide written permission, while still prohibiting any changes to a student’s legal sex or name in school records.
Way back in 2001, there was a landmark Supreme Court case called Good News Club v. Milford Central School. In that case, the school tried to bar a religious club from meeting after hours. The Supreme Court ruled that if a school allows one non-curriculum club to meet, it cannot discriminate against others based on their viewpoint. Yet, as usual, these officials act as if the law doesn't apply to them—thinking that because they don't like the LGBTQ+ community, they can simply ban their clubs.
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