I'm an openly LGBTQIA+ student who has attended Virginia public schools my whole life. I strongly oppose these policies as they suppress representation about people like me. Discussing my community is not inherently sexual. If anything, including my community in the school curricula ensures that all students can access affirming materials, an imperative need given the disproportionate impact the mental health crisis has on the LGBTQIA+ community.

Please do not implement these policies in their current form without explicitly including that schools cannot label content as sexually explicit solely on the basis of the presence of a LGBTQIA+ person.