October  6,  2015   Mychele  Brickner:[email protected]                    Andrea  Lafferty:  [email protected]  

 

YOUR  FAIRFAX  COUNTY  SCHOOL  BOARD  -­‐  WORKING  AGAINST  YOU    

Oct  09,  2014:  At-­‐large  FCPS  Board  Member  Ilryong  Moon  to  add  ‘sexual  orientation’  to  FCPS’  Non-­‐Discrimination   Policy  and  approved  by  enough  Board  Members  to  formally  consider  a  change  to  FCPS  policy.  (Listen  to  Audio  Link)    

Nov  06,  2014:  At-­‐Large  FCPS  Board  Member  Ilryong  Moon  motioned  and  at-­‐Large  Board  Member  Ted  Velkoff   seconded  adding  ‘sexual  orientation’  to  its  Non-­‐Discrimination  Policy;    (Watch  Board  Discussion  Video)      

Mar  04,  2015:    Mark  Herring,  Attorney  General  for  Virginia,  issued  an  opinion  that  Virginia  School  Boards  may   change  their  non-­‐discrimination  policies  without  Legislative  action  by  the  Virginia  General  Assembly.    Prior  Virginia   Attorneys  General  -­‐  as  recently  as  2010  and  dating  back  to  the  1980’s  -­‐  both  Democrat  and  Republican  issued   written  opinions  stating  that  School  Boards  do  not  have  such  authority  because  such  changes  violate  the  Dillon   Rule,  which  stipulates  local  governments  cannot  do  anything  which  isn’t  expressly  allowed  by  Virginia  Code.    

Mar  05,  2015:    Within  hours  of  the  Attorney  General  opinion,  Board  member  at-­‐large  Ryan  McElveen  submitted  a   forum  request  to  amending  FCPS  policy  to  add  ‘gender  identity’  to  the  Board’s  work  calendar.    

March  12,  2015:  The  FCPS  Board  reaches  “Consensus  to  schedule  revisions  to  Policy  1450”  initiated  by  Ryan   McElveen    to  add  gender  identity  as  a  protected  class  under  the  rubric  of  “non-­‐discrimination”.    Most  Board   Members  present  publically  endorsed  the  policy  change  at  that  time.    (Listen  to  Board  Discussion  -­‐  Audio  Link)    

May  7,  2015:  Ryan  McElveen  motioned  and  Ilryong  Moon  seconded  adding  gender  identity  to  Policy  1450,  with  no   supporting  policy,  social  or  financial  study  of  the  impact  of  this  change.    Schultz  and  Reed  proposed  a  delay,  which   failed  10-­‐2.    The  vote  to  add  gender  identity  then  passed  by  the  same  10  votes.    (Watch  Board  Meeting  Video)    

May  9,  2015:  FCPS  holds  a  “Teen  Stress  Summit”  with  Keynote  Speaker,  Dr.  Marc  Brackett,  Ph.D.,  Director  of  the   Yale  Center  for  Emotional  Intelligence  presenting  “the  theory  of  emotional  intelligence,  including  how  it  provides  a   framework  to  both  measure  and  study  the  impact  of  emotions  on  important  life  outcomes  and  teaching  of   emotional  intelligence  to  all  stakeholders  in  schools,  including  students,  teachers,  leaders,  and  families.”    Dr.   Brackett  and  Lady  Gaga’s  Foundation  developed  the  survey  noted  below.    

May  11,  2015:  Just  two  business  days  later,  the  Family  Life  Education  (FLE)  Advisory  Committee  presented  it   recommendations  to  the  School  Board  for  sweeping  changes  to  FLE  that  included  removing  parental  opt-­‐out  from   many  lessons  and  adding  lessons  on  gender  identity  (as  fluid  and  self-­‐determined),  homosexuality,  and  bisexuality   to  grades  7-­‐10.  (Watch  Board  Work  Session  Video)    

June  16,  2015:  FCPS  administrators  emailed  high  school  students  directly,  without  parental  consent,  a  Yale  Center   for  Emotional  Intelligence  survey  ostensibly  about  “mindfulness”,  however  the  study’s  sponsor  is  Lady  Gaga’s  pro-­‐ LGBTQ  “Born  This  Way  Foundation”.    Parents  were  sent  a  scrubbed  set  of  sample  questions,  which  omitted  any   reference  to  the  survey’s  focus  on  sexual  orientation  and  gender  identity.    The  survey  sent  to  students  featured   detailed  questions  about  their  transgender,  bisexual  and  homosexual  identification.  In  addition,  the  survey  sent  to   FCPS  students  had  links  to  the  Born  This  Way  Foundation  website.    

June  25,  2015:  FCPS  School  Board  Members  Sandy  Evans  motioned  and,  Kathy  Smith  seconded  the  FCPS  School   Board’s  approval  of  the  new  FLE  curriculum,  including  the  lessons  on  gender  identity,  transgender,  sexual   orientation,  bisexuality  to  grades  7-­‐10  FLE,  and  the  teaching  that  gender  identity  is  self-­‐determined  and  fluid.     Despite  overwhelming  opposition  from  the  community  (90%  comments  opposed),  the  Board  passed  the  changes     10-­‐2.    Schultz  and  Reed  opposed.    (Watch  Board  Meeting  Video)    

The  Fairfax  County  School  Board  has  been  dominated  for  over  two  decades  by  a  one-­‐sided  viewpoint,  which   does  not  reflect  the  values  of  many  Fairfax  families.    The  current  School  Board’s  recent  actions  demonstrate   a  deeply  troubling  pattern  of  a    (1)  lack  of  transparency,  at  times  to  the  point  of  deceit  and  a  (2)  total  lack  of   responsiveness  to  the  point  of  hostility  to  the  community  of  those  sharing  concerns  about  family  values  and   respect  of  faith  issues.      

1)  PARENTS  /TAXPAYERS  KEPT  IN  THE  DARK  

The  elevation  of  gender  identity  and,  last  fall,  sexual  orientation,  to  a  specially  protected  class  under  the  school  non-­‐ discrimination  policy,  were  put  forth  under  the  guise  of  necessity.    In  fact,  current  law  already  provided  for  the   protection  of  these  students.    

Why,  then,  the  rush  to  pass  the  change—in  weeks,  as  opposed  to  the  10  years  it  took  to  pass  schedule  changes?    There   was  no  supporting  study  on  policy,  social  or  financial  implications,  including  in  such  critical  areas  as  restrooms,  locker   facilities  and  sports  teams.    The  gender  identity  policy  change  was  proposed  by  At  Large  Member  McElveen  within  one   day  of  the  AG  opinion.  Numerous  Freedom  of  Information  requests  (FOIA’s)  were  sent  to  FCPS  regarding  internal   communications  pertaining  to  the  gender  identity  policy  change..    There  is  still  no  compliance  with  these  requests.      

When  the  Board  added  gender  identity  to  Policy  1450,  it  assured  parents  nothing  would  change.    Yet  within  2  days,  the   Board  was  entertaining  recommendations  for  sweeping  FLE  curriculum  changes  adding  gender  identity,   homosexuality,  bisexuality,  transgender  and  “gender  fluidity”  down  to  7th  grade.    In  fact,  the  VA  Standards  of  Learning   are  silent  on  gender  identity  and  other  the  controversial  changes.        

The  Superintendent  then  hired  a  consultant  to  report  on  accommodations  for  transgender  staff  and  students,  yet   refused  to  provide  the  name  of  the  consultant  even  to  a  Board  Member’s  repeated  requests.    It  has  since  been  learned   the  FCPS-­‐hired  consultant  is  a  long-­‐time  LGBTQ  advocate.  This  is  another  process  with  no  arms-­‐length  objectivity  and   therefore  no  reason  for  public  confidence.    There  is  still  no  news  of  the  report,  due  in  September.          

In  June,  a  survey,  ostensibly  on  “emotions”,  was  emailed  to  high  school  students.  Five  days  earlier,  some  parents  were   notified  and  sent  a  set  of  innocuous  questions,  including  whether  a  student  was  male  or  female.    The  actual  survey   sent  to  students  had  detailed  questions  about  sexuality  and  gender/transgender  identity.    The  survey  is  an  initiative  by   Lady  Gaga’s  foundation,  which  supports  LGBTQ  lifestyles  for  youth,  and  Yale.    When  confronted  about  the  disparity  in   questions,  FCPS  claimed  “human  error”.    Yet,  months  later,  there  is  no  public  apology  and,  more  importantly,  no   assurance  the  survey  results  will  be  discarded  rather  than  used  to  justify  yet  more  policies.      

2)  NEAR  TOTAL  LACK  OF  RESPONSIVENESS    

Even  when  90%  of  community  comments  expressly  opposed  the  gender  identity  curriculum,  the  Board  demonstrated  its   contempt  for  the  community  by  passing  these  changes  10-­‐2.    Those  FLE  lessons  are  now  under  development  for  2016-­‐ 2017  —with  no  input  from  parents,  only  the  choice  to  opt  out.      

In  September  a  book  about  a  fictional  transgender  child,  George,  was  offered  in  a  local  elementary  and  middle   schools.    Thanks  to  the  efforts  of  Member  Elizabeth  Schultz,  Dr.  Garza  pulled  the  book,  permitting  use  only  by   counseling  staff  with  parent’s  approval.    This  shows  the  importance  of  a  Member  responsive  to  parental  concerns.    The   current  majority  of  the  School  Board  has  consistently  voted  for  its  agenda  over  and  against  the  concerns  of  parents.  

         

WHAT  YOUR  CHILDREN  ARE  LEARNING  NOW  IN  FLE:    

   

   

5th  grade:    Sexually  Transmitted  Diseases  including  chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, genital herpes, HPV and HIV/AIDS. 7th  grade:  Oral  and  anal  sex;      8th  grade:    anal  sex  defined  and/or  mentioned  21  times       9th  grade:  Sexual  Identity  questions:  A  boy  has  a  crush  on  the  boy  who  sits  next  to  him   in  one  of  his  classes.  He  often  dreams  about  the  two  of  them  being  together  and   alone.    Answer—Sexual  Orientation   10  grade:  Taught  they  can  obtain  treatment  for  STD’s  without  parental  permission.

 

  ON  NOVEMBER  3  WE  CAN  CHANGE  THE  SCHOOL  BOARD  CULTURE   RD

THIS  IS  OUR  ONLY  CHANCE  FOR  THE  NEXT  4  YEARS.       For  the  sake  of  our  children  we  cannot  afford  to  stay  home  

  The  School  Board  spends  more  than  the  Board  of  Supervisors  (53-­‐54%  of  the  entire  budget  for  Fairfax   County,  plus  additional  state  and  federal  funding...also  their  tax  dollars),     2. 75%  of  the  residents  do  not  currently  have  children  in  FCPS,  and     3. Every  registered  voter  has  FOUR  votes  for  the  School  Board  -­‐  yes,  4  votes  which  means  you  can  vote  for   one-­‐third  of  the  12-­‐member  School  Board  with  your  votes.   1.

 

The  impact  of  the  School  Board's  policy-­‐making  decisions  has  a  significant  correlation  to  the  overall  quality  of  life  raising   a  family  here,  and  a  direct  nexus  to  home  values,  economic  development,  job  growth  (Virginia  is  currently  ranked  46th   in  new  business  startups),  ability  to  retire-­‐in-­‐place,  etc.      

There  are  no  elected  public  servants  who  have  more  impact  on  the  day-­‐to-­‐day  life  in  Fairfax  County.      

Most  incumbents  supported  the  gender  identity/transgender  policy  change.  They  did  not  listen  to  you  and  they  do  not   deserve  your  vote.  Please  pass  this  on  to  others  who  care  about  these  issues  and  VOTE  ON  NOVEMBER  3!      

Voter  registration  ends  Tuesday,  October  13th.  You  may  register  online  to  vote  here:  https://www.vote.virginia.gov     Early  voting  has  begun.  In-­‐Person  Absentee  information:  http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections/absentee.htm  

  AT_LARGE:  VOTE  FOR  ALL  THREE   There  are  9  at-­‐Large  candidates  on  the  ballot  in  every  precinct  of  the  county  -­‐  and  all  School  Board  candidates   must  appear  as  “Independent  (I)”  on  the  ballot  by  state  law.  Take  these  names  with  you!    

Dr.  Bob  Copeland:    www.BobforSchoolBoard.com       Jeanette  Hough:    www.JeanetteForSchoolBoard.com     Manar  Jean-­‐Jacques:    www.ManarForFairfax.com      

DISTRICTS:  VOTE  FOR  1  BY  DISTRICT      

BRADDOCK:    No  candidate  we  could  support   DRANESVILLE:  Pete  Kurzenhauser  www.KurzenhauserForSchoolBoard.com   LEE:  No  candidate  we  could  support     HUNTER  MILL:  Mark  Wilkinson  www.MarkWilkensonforSchoolBoard.com     MASON:  No  candidate  we  could  support   MT.  VERNON:  Anthony  Stacy  www.AnthonyforSchoolBoard.com     PROVIDENCE:  Patty  Reed  www.Reed4SchoolBoard.com     SPRINGFIELD:  Elizabeth  Schultz  www.ElizabethSchultz.org     SULLY:  Tom  Wilson  www.TomWilsonforSchoolBoard.com       Paid  for  and  authorized  by  Mychele  Brickner  &  Andrea  Lafferty.  Not  authorized  by  any  candidate  or  candidate  committee.