Fairfax County school shuts down social media account used to bully LGBTQIA+ students

BURKE, Va. - Leaders of a Fairfax County school shut down a social media account they say was being used to bully and harass LGBTQIA+ students.

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Lake Braddock Secondary School 

In a letter to the Lake Braddock Secondary School community Tuesday, principal David Smith said the school's cybersecurity team removed the Instagram page that posted photos of students and used LGBTQIA+ slurs.

Smith said the student responsible has been identified, and disciplinary action will be taken.

"I am deeply troubled that any student at Lake Braddock feels that this is acceptable behavior," Smith said in a statement. "This is not the kind of school community we seek to cultivate. Our shared vision at Lake Braddock emphasizes our commitment to developing students' understanding of self and community with a focus on responsibility, service, empathy, social-emotional learning, equity and inclusion."

"Every student at Lake Braddock has the right to feel safe and respected. I am meeting with members of our LGBTQIA+ student groups this week to listen, learn and continue the dialogue around their experiences in our school community," Smith continued.

The Pride Liberation Project, which describes itself as a student-run coalition of LGBTQIA+ students working to create safe and inclusive schools, posted images from the Instagram page.

The group is calling for Fairfax County Public School leaders to launch an investigation into the incident, to take action against those responsible and to ensure support resources are available to the LGBTQIA+ student community.