Roanoke Sun

The Roanoke County School Board Chairman firmly declined an offer from the Biden administration's Department of Justice to mediate discussions regarding transgender policy implementation. Emphasizing the importance of local stakeholders in making educational decisions, the chairman asserted such matters should not be influenced by unelected federal authorities.

The school district declined the offer to mediate its decision on implementing guidelines from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, which require parental consent for gender transitions in schools, according to an Aug. 28 Daily Wire report. 

Republican Virginia Reps. Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith expressed their support for the school board's decision, arguing local matters should be decided by parents and elected officials, not federal bureaucrats. The DOJ's attempt to intervene in the local policy debate has raised concerns about federal overreach in local education matters, Daily Wire reported. 

"Parents, elected school board members, and Roanoke County taxpayers are much better suited to make important decisions about Roanoke County school matters than unelected bureaucrats from Washington,"  the congressmen said to school board Chair Brent Hudson in a letter dated Aug. 23.

Cline strongly criticized the Biden administration's involvement in Virginia's local affairs, highlighting its contentious history, including labeling concerned parents at school board meetings as domestic terrorists in Loudoun County, Daily Wire said. Cline applauded the Roanoke County School Board for rejecting the DOJ's attempt to insert itself into critical issues, asserting elected board members should retain the authority to make decisions affecting parents and students.

The DOJ's Community Relations Service, responsible for mediating and preventing violence in communities, claims it intervenes in cases of hate crimes, but reportedly couldn't provide evidence of such crimes related to Roanoke County's transgender policy, according to Daily Wire. 

Critics argue the service exhibits partiality on transgender issues, citing its involvement in training law enforcement on engaging with transgender communities and its collaboration with the DOJ's Civil Rights Division in suing states with policies the Biden administration opposes. Its official website has a focus for on LGBTQI+ community protection, Daily Wire reported.