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 10:01 pm

Commenter: Anonymous Retired Teacher

Strongly Oppose Governor Youngkins' Proposed Anti-Trans "Model Policy"

I STRONGLY OPPOSE Governor Youngkin's Proposed Policy. I agree with Equality VA that this policy is "cynical, political, illegal, negligent and malicious." How ironic that the policy is titled "2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools." This policy will strip students of their privacy, dignity and respect.

This proposed policy seems to be rooted in ignorance: Ignorance of transgender individuals and their rights, ignorance of public schools and their stakeholders, ignorance of child and adolescent development, ignorance of public opinion on this topic. Ignorance causes individuals to operate out of fear. The sharing of fear using the public megaphone that a governor has leads to greater fear and ultimately threats of violence.

Students in public schools have the right to feel safe. Personnel in school buildings spend much of their time and energy creating a safe environment in which all students are respected, knowing that their privacy and dignity are being protected. Public schools are not the place to experiment with policies such as this one proposed by Governor Youngkin. Doing so will lead to students who not only do not feel safe, but whose mental health will be compromised, who will not be available for learning and whose lives might eventually end in suicide.

The current 2021 model policies conform with state and federal laws, protect students and should stand. Do not replace them with the short-sighted, narrow-minded 2022 "Model" policies proposed by Governor Youngkin.

CommentID: 202311