Patrick Murphy, the Arlington Public Schools Superintendent, who is paid by Arlington taxpayers, has so far been unwilling to meet with parents who have concerns about the J-2 Transgender & Gender-Nonconforming Student PIP. Dr. Murphy's office appears to be sending a form letter to parents who contact him regarding this issue. Several APC parents received the email below in response to contacting Dr. Murphy. In keeping with what seems to have become the APS party line, "misinformation" is once again alleged to have been communicated by APC. APC and its members have asked frequently, of many people, what information APS and its friends deem flawed or in error. We have yet to receive any response.
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Dear XXXXXXXX: I am replying on behalf of Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy. Thank you for your email regarding APS’s work on our Policy Implementation Procedures (PIP) for transgender and gender-nonconforming students. In keeping with the APS vision and core values, we are working to develop a PIP to ensure that all students feel accepted and safe in school, including our transgender youth. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of misinformation about our work and the process we are following in the email sent by the Arlington Parent Coalition. This is a sensitive topic that affects our students, families and staff, and we have taken a considerable amount of time and care to gather input from APS staff, advisory groups and several outside sources, including the National School Board Association's guide on policies for transgender students in schools. Later this week, we will let you and the community know when the first draft of the PIP is posted on the Engage page on the APS website for input. I encourage you to share your ideas, comments, questions or concerns using the questionnaire that will accompany the draft, or you can use the feedback form on the Engage page. We will send a School Talk message notify the community once it’s posted for feedback. Thank you for your inquiry. Sincerely, XXXXXXXX Office of Planning and Evaluation Arlington Public Schools
Please be aware that correspondence through email is subject to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This means that your correspondence may be made public if (1) it deals with APS business, and (2) someone requests it – even if you have asked that your message be kept confidential. Only a few topics are exempt from the disclosure requirement such as information about identifiable students and personnel information about individual employees. Finally, if you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the email from your inbox, sent items and deleted items. The receipt by any unauthorized person does not constitute a waiver of any applicable protections. Thank you.