Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
Guidance Document Change: Every day, throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, educators and school leaders work to ensure that all students have an opportunity to receive a high-quality education. As a part of that work, educators strive to meet the individual needs of all students entrusted to their care, and teachers work to create educational environments where all students thrive. The Virginia Department of Education (the “Department”) recognizes that each child is a unique individual with distinctive abilities and characteristics that should be valued and respected. All students have the right to attend school in an environment free from discrimination, harassment, or bullying. The Department supports efforts to protect and encourage respect for all students. Thus, we have a collective responsibility to address topics such as the treatment of transgender students with necessary compassion and respect for all students. The Department also fully acknowledges the rights of parents to exercise their fundamental rights granted by the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to direct the care, upbringing, and education of their children. The Code of Virginia reaffirms the rights of parents to determine how their children will be raised and educated. Empowering parents is not only a fundamental right, but it is essential to improving outcomes for all children in Virginia. The Department is mindful of constitutional protections that prohibit governmental entities from requiring individuals to adhere to or adopt a particular ideological belief. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees religious freedom and prohibits the government from compelling speech that is contrary to an individual’s personal or religious beliefs. The Department embarked on a thorough review of the Model Policies Guidance adopted on March 4, 2021 (the “2021 Model Policies”). The 2021 Model Policies promoted a specific viewpoint aimed at achieving cultural and social transformation in schools. The 2021 Model Policies also disregarded the rights of parents and ignored other legal and constitutional principles that significantly impact how schools educate students, including transgender students. With the publication of these 2022 Model Policies (the “2022 Model Policies”), the Department hereby withdraws the 2021 Model Policies, which shall have no further force and effect. The Department issues the 2022 Model Policies to provide clear, accurate, and useful guidance to Virginia school boards that align with statutory provisions governing the Model Policies. See Code of Virginia, § 22.1-23.3 (the “Act”). Significantly, the 2022 Model Policies also consider over 9,000 comments submitted to the Department during the public comment period for the 2021 Model Policies.
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9/27/22  10:05 am
Commenter: Jennifer Edgerly

Oppose the new policies
 

As the parent of two elementary school children, it is my job to raise them to become capable adults who know their own minds and how to make decisions for themselves, among other things. I do this by exposing my children to a wide variety of information and varying viewpoints. I trust my children to be open and honest with me. They know that if they tell me something -- that something hurts, that they like or don't like something, etc. -- I will believe them. I trust my children to make up their own minds and to form their own beliefs about the world and about themselves.  

My job is not to tell my children who they are. It is not to tell them exactly what sports to play, what books to read, who to be friends with. I trust them to make these decisions. So I also trust them to know if the body they were born with feels right to them. I trust them to know what pronouns feel right to them.  

The Governor and the far right wing in Virginia are talking about parents' rights, but my rights as a parent are not being trampled on if my child wants to be called by pronouns other than those that match their gender at birth. My child's decisions are not about me. I am not so egotistical to believe I know better than my child about what feels right to them. I do not presume to know how they feel or to believe I have any right to dictate who they must be. This idea of parents' rights is a farce. 

These new model policies from the Governor are a way to win points with the far right and are not about parents' rights. They are a political tactic and will do nothing but hurt innocent children. Think about that, these are children you are attacking. What sort of coward picks on kids? 

We should be proud as parents to know we are raising smart, capable children who are empowered to make the best decisions for them. That is what every parent should want for their child. It is for this, and so many other reasons, that I strongly oppose the new model policies put forth by the Youngkin administration. 

CommentID: 145743