My name is Ian Hoban and I am in the first semester of my Master’s program pursuing a degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I am writing to you to express my strong opposition to the 2022 Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools in their current form. I am not providing this comment from the perspective of an expert, as that would be disingenuous given my only having just begun my studies in this field. Instead I am speaking as an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, a supporter of transgender students, and a concern citizen of the state of Virginia.
The 2022 Policy includes the language of meeting, “the individual needs of all students entrusted to their care,” as well as the recognition, “that each child is a unique individual with distinctive abilities and characteristics that should be valued and respected,” which on the surface implies an equitable approach toward the educational experiences of all children; presumably including transgender children. What follows is an assertion of “collective responsibility” regarding the treatment of transgender students “with necessary compassion and respect for all students”, which appears to work against the equitable stance previously stated above; as the unique needs of transgender children do not wholly apply to all children as the language of this text indicates. In fact, there is evidence that the proposed policy as written may expose transgender children to harm by devaluing and disrespecting them, which is antithetical to the values espoused in the guidance.
Next, comes an invoking of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution on the grounds of affirming the rights of parents “to direct the care, upbringing, and education of their children”, which is a blatant misinterpretation of this Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment aims to protect the “privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States” and further elaborates that no State may “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property” nor may it “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This Amendment would arguably be more accurately applied in support of the protections of the 2021 Model Policies, as guaranteeing the rights of transgender students to the above-mentioned freedoms as citizens of the United States.
In light of this, again I urge the Virginia Department of Education to reject the 2022 Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students. Instead, I would encourage the adoption of the protections contained in the 2021 Model Policies, in order to guarantee that transgender students receive the high-quality education you openly express to support.