Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday that the U.S. Department of Education determined that the gender policies of Alexandria and of Prince William, Fairfax, Loudoun and Arlington counties violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972,
But their neighbor to the south, Stafford, has encountered no such issues, county schools Superintendent Daniel Smith said Monday.
The five school divisions identified last week had policies that “allow students of the opposite sex access to intimate sex-separated facilities and allow students of the opposite sex to participate in sex-separated sports,” Youngkin’s office said in a statement.
Stafford, however, hasn’t had any problems in this area, Smith said in an afternoon interview with reporters that touched on a wide range of subjects.
“When I came in, I asked about it, and we felt like we were on good, solid ground there in terms of what we were doing and how we were working with our families,” Smith said. “We always worked alongside of our parents.”
The county has a nondiscrimination policy and works case-by-case with parents to come up with plans for students with gender-identity concerns. For example, a student may choose to use a single-person bathroom rather than a main restroom designed for multiple users. That way, said Smith, no issues arise about who should or shouldn’t be in a given space.
Smith said that, in his experience, students in gender-identity situations would rather use an alternate bathroom than be lumped in with everyone else. The superintendent also confirmed that Stafford hasn’t had any issues with transgender athletes.
But that was just one topic that Smith addressed in the interview, which served as a sort of preview for the upcoming school year. It will be the first full one in Stafford for Smith, who came to work in the county in December.
Education spending
In terms of public spending on schools, the superintendent said that $1.2 million worth of federal education funds will be coming to Stafford this year, the amount officials had hoped for. Federal funding for local schools has been a source of anxiety since President Donald Trump took office in January and began making changes to education policy.
On local funding, Smith said he thought this year’s county budget talks went well.
“You know, I think last [fiscal] year, I was pleased where we ended up,” Smith said. “I worked with the county, and our boards worked together to really be one Stafford.”
The county government’s spending plan for this fiscal year includes roughly $175 million for school operating costs, about $5 million more than last year’s level. And the Board of Supervisors designated $3.1 million from an increase in the county meals tax to pay for school-employee pay raises.
Smith noted specifically that the school system and county government attempted to give similar raises to their respective employees, and that the supervisors also earmarked money for repair and/or replacement of school infrastructure.
“And, so, this was the first year that we got what we asked for in terms of that,” he said.
Hiring
Smith said that the school division hasn’t yet hired all the employees it needs for the school year, but that the numbers look better than this time last year.
A count earlier this month found about 100 employees still needed, but that was 40 workers ahead of the same time in 2024.
“Special education remains a high area of need for us,” Smith said, “and I think that’s state and nationwide in terms of what we’re looking for, but we’re working with our staff and teams on that.”
Fourth specialty center
The county is also opening its fourth specialty center for students interested in a specific profession. This one will focus on business and information technology and be at Colonial Forge High School.
The other centers are: Community Health and Medical Professions at Brooke Point High School, Engineering Professions and Industries of Construction at Stafford High School and Leadership, Education and Public Service at Mountain View High School.
Smith said the school division plans to open two other specialty centers next year, one at North Stafford High School and one at the county’s sixth high school, scheduled to open in August 2026 on Truslow Road.
Transportation
Stafford had a bit of a nightmare last year when schools opened with about 3,000 students not having received a bus route, forcing parents and caregivers to make alternate arrangements for getting those children to school.
But Smith said the situation is different this year as transportation officials have been on the case.
“I am really excited about transportation,” he said. “I’ve been down there many times [to the department], all the folks that I talked to said it’s better than it’s ever been.”
Other issues
Smith also said the county has seen a number of former federal workers apply for teaching jobs as Trump fired thousands of U.S. government employees earlier this year.
“We’ve been working through kind of licensure, career-switcher programs to come and support that,” he said.
The superintendent said the school district just finalized an agreement with George Mason University, as well. The college will automatically admit Stafford County students if they have a certain grade-point average and other qualifications.
The county is focusing on technology this school year, too. It will offer parents an insurance plan for Chromebooks that are issued to students — a policy that came about as the result of issues with property damage — and school officials will incorporate a better training program to teach students the proper use of the devices.
Stafford teachers are going through artificial-intelligence training, as well, to learn about the technology and how it may or may not be appropriate in the classroom.
Smith said he wants county teachers generally to get to know their students well, and to communicate and partner with their parents.
“That sounds like just back to the basics, but that’s really what it’s about,” he said. “It’s about let’s get to know our kids. If we don’t know who are kids are, it’s hard to teach them in a relevant, meaningful way.”
