Virginia Regulatory Town Hall View Comments

Department of Education

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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10/26/22 12:54 pm

Commenter: Erin H.

Oppose this regulation

This regulation must change. It does not promote a supportive school environment and has the potential to harm those students who may need support the most. While saying it’s important that the school environment be free from harassment and bullying, this policy does so in a way that decreases the likelihood that students who are gender non-conforming will come forward and thus they will be denied the support they need to thrive at school.

Students whose parents/guardians are already supportive of their identity will more than likely already talk and discuss this with them, and have protective factors already on their side.

Students whose parents are not supportive and who may in fact disown, or otherwise negatively impact the student’s mental or physical health, will not get the support of their identity safely at school (because they will not want their guardian/parents informed) or at home. As a society, we already recognize not all parents/guardians have children’s best interests in mind.

Section V. Bullet B and C. This regulation takes away a person’s efficacy for an issue that affects them and harms no one and places their decision in the hands of another where it can cause emotional harm. This law does exactly what it says, it serves to “control” and harm children in the false name of “parental empowerment.”

Calling a student another name (as educators have been doing with nicknames for years) should not be a parental decision. Choosing & using pronouns should fall into the same category of personal choice and be respected by educators and peers in this public environment.

This law is based on a specific belief that is not backed by science. Just because you choose not to believe something, does not mean you are correct. You are privileging control and bias without considering the harm that may be caused to an actual child. Read any of the scientific research done in this area.

Equipping schools with the personnel, time, funding, and training to be able talk with a students about identity, their support network, and yes, safety, then helping students to find ways to talk with parents/guardians is a better use of regulatory power than this over-reach.

CommentID: 198838