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 1:01 pm

Commenter: Carrie Capuco

I Oppose the Governor's model policies on the treatment of transgender (trans) and non-b

As a voting Virginia resident, an open-minded individual, and the mother of 2 young adults, I strongly oppose the Governor's proposed model policies on the treatment of transgender (trans) and non-binary youth in schools. I want the VDOE to reject the proposed model policies.

The model policies are narrow and separatist, and take our Commonwealth back in time to the era when I grew up. Virginia must move forward and embrace social changes, not stay stuck in the mindset of the 1960s!

My daughters were lucky to be raised in an inclusive, tolerant community where teens were allowed to openly express questions about their sexuality and identity without ridicule. It is essential that today's children have that same advantage. I have witnessed pre-teens and teens struggle with identity questions. I have known pre-teens and teens who have harmed themselves and threatened suicide out of fear that "coming out" would end relationships with families and friends. We MUST NOT put today's pre-teens and teens in the position to have the same fears. That type of alienation and isolation can lead to mental health issues which plague individuals for years.

In fact, a 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that 45% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including more than half (53%) of transgender and nonbinary youth. Nearly 1 in 5 transgender and nonbinary youth attempted suicide. However, LGBTQ youth who had access to an LGBTQ-affirming school reported lower rates of attempting suicide than those who did not. Additionally, learning about LGBTQ people or issues was associated with significantly lower odds (23%) of a past-year suicide attempt in LGBTQ students.

I think of my daughter's friends "Matt" and "Ameila" who learned to comfortably discuss their LGBTQ identities. I also think of my co-worker whose daughter in 6th grade now identifies nonbinary and prefers to be addressed as "they," changing their name to a gender neutral derivative of her given name. Implementation of this policy would devastate those youth. Most importantly, I think of a friend's 7th grade grandson who recently asked to be referred to as "she," changing her name completely. The sad story my friend shared is that the Pennsylvania school this youth attends will not allow it, and so she is forced to change schools. Moreover, she has an uncle who now refuses to speak with her. I put forward that the uncle's poor behavior stems from an inability to properly articulate his feelings on this change of identity in his family.

Recently, I had the occasion to reconnect with high school classmates at our 40th reunion. I grew up in a time when the conversation was not open regarding sexuality and gender identity. They were not discussed - ever. In reconnecting with so many of my friends from high school, I was comforted by how confident many of these friends are in their current identities. The whole experience of reconnecting made me wonder whether these old friends would have had a different teenage experience had then been able to question and discuss openly their trans and non-binary identities. How uncomfortable were they being forced into gender roles that they did not identify with? Did they have the ability to articulate that they did not identify? I imagine not, since we were not given the tools and language to respectfully discuss such emotions and physical feelings.

This last point is essential. Our schools should not shut down conversations of ideas outside of traditional values. It is in the schools that we can teach our youth to thoughtfully and articulately discuss concepts and actions that exist outside of every student's current viewpoint. As young adults, our students likely have not experienced as broad a variety of ideas and beliefs as many mature adults. Invalidating student's feelings and stunting their conversation becomes a failure of our education system. It leads to inability to rationally discuss or express anything that appears "different."

I live in the America where speech is still free, choices are valued and individuality is what makes us strong. For these reasons I strongly oppose the Governor's proposed model policies on the treatment of transgender (trans) and non-binary youth in schools. I want the VDOE to reject the proposed model policies.

CommentID: 198858