SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. — For the past several months parents and the Spotsylvania County school board have sparred over the direction of the school division during several contentious school board meetings.
At this Monday’s meeting some students stepped up to the mic to address the board about Governor Glenn Youngkin’s (R, Va.) policy guidelines regarding transgender students, the protests against them, and the backlash students say they’ve gotten for speaking out.
“A lot of people just like to avoid this conversation,” said one student seen in a school board recording of the meeting.
Students at the meeting and in conversations with WUSA9 say of their peers are being harassed and bullied online for their participation in school “walkouts” protesting Youngkin’s policies. Parents also shared screen images of some of the posts by adults they describe as “vile” and say were directed at students.
“Kids in her school have been posting online giving her death threats,” a student said about a friend in comments to the board at Monday’s meeting. “They’ve been harassing her in school and in the restrooms because of the walkout.”
“This is a serious thing that impacts queer kids. And queer kids are human beings,” the student told the board. “We have human rights. We deserve that.”
Spotsylvania school board public relations spokesman Jon Russell told WUSA9 in a text, “Regardless of what side of the issue students or parents fall on, there is no place for bullying.” Russell added that there were “no walk outs in our division” and that all student protests were “held within the confines of school buildings during a set time frame.”
The board tabled a motion to pass a resolution denouncing the online comments directed at students.
Russell said one board member called for the arrest of parents responsible for the alleged cyberbullying. He described that as “grandstanding to call for the arrest of people exercising their First Amendment rights.”
Some adults did speak in support of the students at Monday’s meeting including Terri Steidl who said, “It is not okay to bash students on social media because they stand up for what they believe it. If anything, we should encourage students to stand up for what they believe in even if we don't agree with a particular side.”
Spotsylvania’s next board meeting is set for November 7.