I implore the Board of Education to reject these policies as they are fueled by hatred and transphobia, and are both disgusting and disgraceful.! We must protect transgender and non-binary youth! Trans and non-binary children deserve the same safety and autonomy afforded to their cis peers. Trans youth face extremely high rates of suicide attempts because they already feel excluded, different, and unsafe in their own bodies, in their own homes. This policy will have a direct effect to make that WORSE for trans children in Virginia schools, make no doubt that if enacted this will be responsible for a higher rate of suicide among queer kids. The suicide rate for transgender youth is already extremely high. 52% of trans youth seriously considered suicide, while 21% attempted suicide in the past year. This problem is preventable, but the new model policies would exacerbate the issue by denying students life-saving social transitions at school. The Trevor Project explains that “transgender and nonbinary youth who reported having pronouns respected by all or most people in their lives attempted suicide at half the rate of those who did not have their pronouns respected.” This statistic shows that honoring students’ chosen names and pronouns is a crucial form of suicide prevention. Moreover, as much as we would like to imagine that all parents are supportive of their children no matter their gender identity, educators see that this is unfortunately not the case: Transgender youth are at a higher risk of experiencing homelessness, in part because they are often kicked out of their homes or abandoned by caregivers due to their trans identity. The Trevor Project states that “38% of transgender girls/women, 39% of transgender boys/men, and 35% of nonbinary youth reported housing instability and homelessness.” By requiring educators such as teachers and guidance counselors to automatically inform parents of their child’s transgender identity if the student comes out at school, the state puts young people in a position where they must either suppress their identities entirely or risk the roof over their heads. Mandating staff to out students to their parents puts youth at risk for abuse from unaffirming family members. The harm from this action can be anything from the guardians pulling the student from school counseling, to kicking them out of the home entirely, to physical abuse, suicide, or even murder of the child.