RICHMOND, Va. – Today York Circuit Court granted Virginia Department of Education (VDOE)’s pleas in bar and dismissed a lawsuit challenging its 2023 anti-trans model policies on behalf of a transgender York County Public School student, ruling the case is barred by the legal doctrine of sovereign immunity and by the statute of limitations, preventing the case from proceeding.
Following the hearing, ACLU of Virginia Senior Transgender Attorney Wyatt Rolla and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP Partner Andrew Ewalt released the following statement:
“The Virginia Department of Education didn’t want to defend its anti-trans model policies in a court of law because it knew they can’t stand up to scrutiny. Its policies harm the very students they’re supposed to protect, and they’ve already resulted in discrimination that violates state and federal law – like the discrimination our client experienced when the York County Public School system allowed her teacher to refuse to use the affirming name both the student and her mother provided.
“If the state discriminates against you or your child, you should be able to do something about it. Unfortunately, the court’s ruling today means that our client will not have that right. We’re hopeful other courts will protect Virginians’ access to justice when they consider the same issue on behalf of other transgender students whose school districts relied on VDOE’s dangerous policies to discriminate against them.”
More information on the lawsuit, which calls on York County Circuit Court to vacate VDOE’s “2023 Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools,” as well as a second lawsuit filed by ACLU of Virginia and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP in Hanover County on behalf of another transgender student, is available here.
