FCPS Pride

If you're able to support this wonderful organization, please consider doing so! Thank you.

Hey y'all, Leon here. This isn't the post I expected to write for NoVA Prism Center's fourth birthday. I had a whole thing written up about our first Pride season, our early fiscal sponsorship with CORE Foundation, and a look back on how far we've come since 2022. But after the past few days, I can't leave it there.

Y'all, it is ROUGH out there. In the past three days, NoVA Prism Center has given over $1000 in emergency mutual aid microgrants, to cover electric bills, groceries, and unexpected costs after evictions. We've handed out restaurant and grocery gift cards and bags stuffed with clothing and basic groceries. We've had more folks coming to us for emergency aid *this week* than we did all of last *year*, and more requests have come in just in the span of time it took to write this post. With the current economic situation, I don't see this crisis ending any time soon.

I'm fiercely protective of our community and it is deeply important to me as a leader that NoVA Prism Center is able to rise up to meet this need with open arms and radical care, but we, too, have to make sure our rent is paid and our lights stay on. So today, in honor of how far we've come and the work we still have ahead of us, I am asking you to help us meet these desperate needs by donating to the NoVA Prism Center mutual aid fund. Your donation is, of course, tax-deductible, but donations to the fund are also restricted to it-- we legally cannot use that money for anything except direct emergency mutual aid, so you know your donations will be directly helping someone make it through one of the hardest times of their life. Donate today at https://givebutter.com/Ok4kuJ

If you can't donate funds, please share this post. We're also accepting donations of unexpired frozen and pantry foods, unopened personal care and hygiene products, clothing, and more. Reach out to us for more info on how to get donated items to us.

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case brought by Florida parents challenging how a public school handled a student’s gender identity.

The case involved parents who alleged that staff at a Tallahassee middle school supported their child’s nonbinary identity without informing them, arguing this violated their constitutional parental rights under the 14th Amendment.

Lower courts dismissed the lawsuit, finding that school officials did not act to harm the child and instead sought to support their wellbeing.

The Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the appeal follows a recent similar refusal in a Massachusetts, as disputes over how schools handle transgender and gender-questioning students continue across the US.

The Supreme Court has recently weighed in on related issues, including allowing certain challenges to California policies around parental notification and upholding a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

Congratulations, Fairfax County Public Schools! We are big fans of fine arts in our schools (and our fine arts staff, especially!!)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is seeking community feedback on its FY 2027 Budget, which will be finalized on May 5. This budget accounts for about 70% of FCPS funding.

Here are the ways to share your feedback about the Fairfax County budget:
🗳️ Complete the FY27 Advertised Budget survey: https://engage.fairfaxcounty.gov/x17280
📧 By email: [email protected]

Learn more about how our annual budget supports sustaining the excellence that our families and community expect: www.fcps.edu/budgetstory

Go see the award-winning Lake Braddock HS theater perform one of the most ground-breaking and impactful musicals ever written, with themes and characters that are still powerfully relevant today! Tickets and more information can be found at lbtheatre.com!

In a Berlin nightclub, as the 1920s draw to a close, a garnish Master of Ceremonies welcomes the audience and assures them they will forget all their troubles at the Cabaret. With the Emcee’s b***y songs as wry commentary, Cabaret explores the dark, heady and tumultuous life of Berlin’s natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich. Cliff, a young American writer newly arrived in Berlin, is immediately taken with English singer Sally Bowles. Meanwhile, Fraulein Schneider, proprietor of Cliff and Sally’s boarding house, tentatively begins a romance with Herr Schultz, a mild-mannered fruit seller who happens to be Jewish.

Content Warning: Cabaret includes adult language, innuendo, and references and imagery associated with hate groups.

Plans next Saturday? Join Indivisible Turning The Tables at NoKings Day in Fairfax City which allows for more visibility, wider sidewalks, and more opportunity for community engagement. Think of it as a block party with protest signs!
More info at https://www.turningthetables.live/event-calendar/nokings3

Celebrate the City of Fairfax Trans Day of Visibility Proclamation — honoring trans lives, resilience, and joy.

Join a collective of THOUSANDS in the nation's capital to honor transgender people’s resilience, diversity, and vast contributions to society.

Speakers will include key voices in Congress, public figures such as last year’s Lena Dunham, and transgender activists.

HRC will be at the National Mall at 10:30 AM for a pre-rally morning mixer, including beverages and an opportunity to build community before the action starts! Programming will start at 11 AM.
https://www.mobilize.us/hrc/event/905415/?utm_source=email