The Arc of Northern Virginia is a non-profit organization focused on ensuring all people with developmental disabilities are living a full life in their homes and communities. Our organization serves many thousands of Northern Virginians with developmental disabilities (DD) and their loved ones. On a frequent basis, we all field inquiries from families navigating the challenges unfolding when a loved one with a disability is either arrested or victimized. As a result, we have spent a great deal of time developing resources and other tools to support people navigating these challenging situations, and we see the need for more resources, especially school-aged, developmentally appropriate sexual education. We were pleased to strongly support HB 134 and are grateful for the work of VDOE in furthering this legislation’s intent.
We have conferred with The Arc of Virginia and other advocacy partners on the proposed policies. We concur with The Arc of Virginia’s suggestions for editing the policies as proposed in order to ensure they best meet the needs of all students with disabilities and hope their suggestions are taken into account and incorporated into final decisions.
Thank you to the Department of Education for your work on this critical matter.