My frustration with Fairfax County Public Schools began with an email I received this summer titled “Important Update from the Superintendent Regarding Title IX.” In it, Superintendent Michelle Reid informed parents that the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights had warned the district that its policy, which allows students to use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their so-called “gender identity” rather than sex, could violate federal Title IX law. She added that the school board had voted to authorize legal action against the Department to defend those policies.
Reading that letter made me furious. FCPS—the system funded by families like mine—was choosing to fight for a policy that undermines the protections Title IX was created to provide for women and girls. As a parent, I’ve always believed public education should uplift and empower children, especially in communities where families of every background are working hard to give the next generation a better life.
But in recent years, our school system has drifted far from that mission. Too often, classrooms focus on pronouns rather than pedagogy. Parents are treated as outsiders, while students, particularly those in the Hispanic community, are falling behind.
Follow-up emails about the FCPS case continued to arrive in my inbox, even as troubling stories from local schools emerged. At Oakton High School, a female student said she was told to leave the girls’ bathroom after objecting to a male student’s presence. At West Springfield High, girls reported that a male student, who administrators said identifies as female, had been watching them change in the locker room. Rather than reassuring families or reviewing the policies, Reid’s messages doubled down on the district’s determination to continue fighting in court.
At a recent town hall in Fairfax, I heard Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears speak alongside teachers, legal experts, and parents who shared similar concerns about the current state of our schools. Another shock to families was learning that third-party mental health providers in the schools, such as Hazel Health, can counsel children without notifying their parents. These aren’t isolated incidents; they point to a larger problem where policy agendas take priority over student safety and parental involvement.
Winsome Sears is one of the clearest voices in our state for parental rights, school choice, and the protection of childhood innocence. She understands what so many of us feel: political ideology has no place in our children’s classrooms, bathrooms, or sports teams.
Sears has been unequivocal: no parent should ever be excluded from their child’s life at school. She supports the governor’s model policies and calls for full parental consent and transparency in all counseling and third-party programs. Parents deserve to know what their children are being taught, what services they’re receiving, and who is influencing them during the school day.
For families like mine, especially in Virginia’s growing Hispanic community, this matters deeply. Many Latino parents place a premium on academic achievement and safety. Fifty-four percent of Hispanic parents said parents should decide how and when sensitive subjects such as gender or sexuality are introduced, not schools, and most want to be involved in how sensitive topics are addressed in classrooms. Those results echo what I hear in Fairfax: families want higher reading scores, stronger math instruction, and respect for their values at home.
Sears says she would refocus schools on reading, writing, and math—not politics—and redirect funding to proven instruction rather than consultants pushing new social theories. She also supports school choice, ensuring education dollars follow the child, not the system. That reform would especially help Hispanic families who feel trapped in underperforming districts and mandates that don’t align with their values.
By contrast, former Representative Abigail Spanberger and others in Washington have backed federal measures that expand gender-identity mandates in schools and limit parental notification—the same approach that created conflict here in Fairfax. Those policies strip parents of local control and impose one-size-fits-all rules from Washington. Virginians deserve better. We deserve leaders who trust parents, not bureaucracies, to guide their children’s upbringing.
Fairness and safety are also at stake in athletics. Sears has pledged to uphold Title IX protections so biological males cannot compete in girls’ sports or use girls’ locker rooms. “Girls’ sports are for girls,” she says—a simple truth too many leaders avoid. Her stance echoes national advocate Riley Gaines, whose “Stand with Women” scorecard highlights which leaders stand up for female athletes. Sears passes with flying colors.
Beyond policy, Sears models the courage parents have been waiting for. When school boards silence parents or bury records behind bureaucratic red tape, she urges families to stand firm, file Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests, and demand accountability.
As a resident and Fairfax parent, I hope more of our neighbors will join in speaking up and working for the future our children deserve.
Judy Pino is an advisor on Hispanic issues and a
Spanish-language spokesperson for Independent Women’s Voice.
