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  10:12 am
Commenter: Dr. Juan R Gelpi

Strongly oppose
 

As has become typical in our country, this law, coached as a law to protect cis gender students, is a thinly veiled attack on transgender students and their families. Transgender persons are uniquely victimized in our society. They are disproportionately bullied and excluded. As a consequence, they suffer from some of the highest suicide attempt and suicide completion rates per capita in the nation. Right in our commonwealth, a talented and kind young trans woman committed suicide this week. In addition, per capita, trans women, and especially trans women of color suffer disproportionately from violent assault and murder. These laws serve only to further the marginalization and dehumanization of our trans children, siblings, mothers, fathers and friends, which leads to this atmosphere of hatred and violence. I strongly oppose this law. Our cis gender children are going to be fine. Our transgender children are the ones who are truly in danger.

“The suicide attempt rate among transgender persons ranges from 32% to 50% across the countries. Gender-based victimization, discrimination, bullying, violence, being rejected by the family, friends, and community; harassment by intimate partner, family members, police and public; discrimination and ill treatment at health-care system are the major risk factors that influence the suicidal behavior among transgender persons.” (Virupashka, et al., Indian J. Psychol Med,  2016 Nov-Dec; 38(6): 505–509 doi: 10.4103/0253-7176.194908)

 
In addition, these laws are frequently couched as protections of religious freedom. This is a cynical use of our most vulnerable citizens in an era of culture war and extreme political partisanship. The only religious freedom being “protected” here is the freedom to discriminate. It is often ignored that the the principles on which this country was founded are meant not only to protect the right of the religious to practice their faith, but also the right of those who don’t practice a particular faith from the imposition of a religious mandate on them. Religion and religious practice is rightly protected, but should be kept away from legislation as our founders intended. 

CommentID: 145832