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  5:50 pm
Commenter: Deina Wray Underhill

STRONGLY OPPOSE! THIS POLICY WILL COST LIVES!!!
 

These actions will cost lives. As a transgender person and a retired military veteran I can’t be quiet about this.

EVERY child has the right to feel safe, welcomed, and valued, and schools have a duty to fulfill those obligations.  Research shows that when trans and nonbinary youth face hostile school climates their mental health and academic achievement suffer. Every young person in America, including transgender and LGBTQ+ youth, should feel safe, supported, and able to concentrate on their academics at their schools without worrying about whether they can use the bathroom or talk to a teacher for support. 

As a friend of mine put it:

[A]s a teacher, I know a lot of students who come to me with their preferred pronouns and say, “please don’t tell my parents.” I cannot imagine if my hands were tied legally, and I had to out those children…especially since they tell me I’m the only one they can trust…

Not allowing trans kids to express their gender identity will cost the lives of too many of these children. Trans people are already at higher risk for being bullied and for suicide. Forcing them back in the closet will cause irreparable harm.

Everyone should be allowed to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender. Everyone should have the correct pronouns used. Everyone should be called by their preferred name. 

If you are a cis-man and someone constantly refuses to let you use the bathroom or call you “she” you’d realize how demoralizing and degrading this treatment is.

Outing trans kids will cost trans kids' lives. We live in a society that often is not accepting of people who are different, and this will lead to shunning, or worse, by either parents or unaccepting peers.

It is a singular choice of when to come out and should never, ever be in the hands of someone else.

CommentID: 149432