The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and Potomac Law Group have filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two students who say they were denied permission to form a Gay-Straight Alliance at King George Middle School in King George, Virginia.
According to the lawsuit, the lead plaintiff, a seventh-grade student identified by the initials Z.J.W., learned about GSA clubs while researching them at home.
With their parents’ support, Z.J.W. contacted a teacher in August 2025, before the start of the school year, and asked her to sponsor a GSA at the middle school.
The teacher, Becca Boe, agreed to sponsor the club and approached King George Middle School Principal Casey Nice about the process of establishing it. The lawsuit alleges that Nice was receptive and suggested creating a flyer, a club constitution, a sample calendar of activities, and an interest form to post on the school’s online learning platform, Canvas.
In mid-September 2025, Boe sent the completed documents to Nice, who approved them for posting on the Canvas student page.
The group’s constitution stated that its goal was to create a “safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ students and allies” and “to promote respect, understanding, and equality for all people regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.”
Proposed activities included “board games, doing craft projects, and talking about shared interests, like movies and YouTube things they like to watch: regular middle-school types of activities.”
According to the lawsuit, 17 students completed the online interest form. But after the club materials were shared in a Facebook group on September 16, Boe and school district officials were barraged with “hostile” and “threatening” messages. Following the backlash, Nice told parents and Superintendent Jesse Boyd told the school board that the GSA had been “paused” to allow for further discussion.
At an October 6 school board meeting, division staff proposed revising the policy governing student groups. Under the proposed changes, principals would approve or reject club applications, with the superintendent deciding any appeals. Groups seeking approval would also be required to submit the names of at least 10 prospective members. On November 17, the board adopted the revisions and limited “non-curriculum-related groups” to the high school.
But lawyers for the plaintiffs — students Z.J.W. and A.A.P. and their parents — allege that despite the restrictions, King George County Schools has allowed several noncurricular student groups to operate at the middle school, including an outdoor club where students make fishing lures and skin squirrels. They allege that school officials have classified those groups as curriculum-related while refusing to do the same for the GSA.
The lawsuit alleges that by adopting the restrictions and creating additional hurdles to forming a club, the King George County School Board, Boyd, and Nice violated the students’ First Amendment rights by discriminating against viewpoints supporting LGBTQ rights and restricting the private speech of prospective GSA members.
The lawsuit also claims that school and district officials have violated the federal Equal Access Act, which prohibits schools receiving federal money from blocking the formation of student groups based on their religious, political, or philosophical beliefs, by blocking the GSA while allowing other student-led clubs to meet.
“King George County Schools cannot move the goalposts to prevent an organization that promotes respect and equality for LGBTQ+ students from existing just because school board members disagree with its message,” ACLU of Virginia staff attorney Julia Kahn said in a statement. “The First Amendment and Equal Access Act protect all students, and the school board cannot pick and choose who the rules apply to. Why this club, and not others?”
“Student clubs help students build community, find belonging, and thrive, and when schools offer those opportunities, the law requires that they be available on equal terms to all students,” Mary Rohmiller, a partner at Potomac Law Group, said in a statement. “But King George County Schools appears to be applying a double standard to the GSA at its middle schools. The students at the heart of this case are not asking for special treatment — they’re asking for equal treatment.”
The lawsuit asks the court to issue preliminary and permanent injunctions requiring the district to allow the GSA to form and operate under the same guidelines as other clubs. It also seeks to prohibit the district from enforcing policies that discriminate against student groups based on their viewpoints or retaliating against students or teachers who supported the GSA.
The lawsuit seeks attorneys’ fees and other legal costs but only $1 in nominal damages.
“Money is not the purpose of this litigation,” said Wyatt Rolla, an ACLU of Virginia staff attorney representing the plaintiffs. “This case is squarely in [the ACLU’s] mission of protecting free speech for all students.”
The University of Alabama System has removed sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression from the nondiscrimination policies of its three campuses.
According to AL.com, archived web pages show that the words were deleted last year from the Equal Opportunity Program statements for the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
No other four-year public universities in the state appear to have removed the words, according to AL.com's research.
The Fairfax County School Board has elected its first-ever out lesbian as chair of the board governing Virginia's largest school system and an out bisexual man as vice chair.
At its July 9 meeting, the 12-member board selected Robyn Lady (Dranesville), who became the first out lesbian elected to the Fairfax County School Board in 2024, as chair for the 2026-27 school year.
Lady most recently served as the board's vice chair under Sandy Anderson's leadership as chair. She also chaired the Governance Committee, where she oversaw successful revisions to the school district's grading policy. In addition, she served as the board's liaison to the School Health Advisory Committee, the City of Fairfax School Board, and the Fairfax County Athletic Council.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican, recently criticized an Indianapolis high school classroom displaying rainbow-colored banners and signs supporting LGBTQ rights, women's rights, and the Black Lives Matter movement.
On July 21, Rokita shared two photos of flags and decorations displayed inside a classroom at Perry Meridian High School. One photo shows a string of international flags hanging above a bulletin board with three larger banners, two of them rainbow-colored. One reads "Love Wins," while another states "Science is real. Black lives matter. No human is illegal, Love is love. Women's rights are human rights. Kindness is everything." The third depicts a raised fist in rainbow colors.
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