School District Grapples With the Transgender Debate

A few short miles outside of Washington, D.C., a public school community appears divided over a policy that allows transgender students to use the bathrooms, locker rooms, and other sex-specific facilities in accordance with their gender identity.

Supporters view it as a positive step in the name of equality, while opponents view it as an infringement on the privacy and safety rights of the rest of the students.

In some ways, this community, Fairfax County, Virginia, has been ground zero for the transgender issue. Last spring, a year before the Obama administration issued guidance mandating that transgender students be granted access to facilities that match their gender identity, the Fairfax County School Board passed its own transgender non-discrimination policy.

This has made Fairfax County a test case, in some ways, of what’s to come with the Obama administration’s new transgender policy.

To find out how the community is dealing with the issue, The Daily Signal attended a Fairfax County School Board meeting, where we spoke with people on both sides of the debate. Watch the video to hear their response.