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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10/26/22  10:39 pm
Commenter: Kristina

Common sense
 

We have a rule in our home. If you are paying you can choose where we eat.  The principal is the same in regards to public and private local state and federal matters.  If you do or don’t like something you can vote when your 18.  If children can’t vote until they are 18, buy a lottery ticket, join the military, donate blood, and the list goes on… now why in the world does anyone think they are capable of making life altering decisions about their identity and bodies?  If they think otherwise, they can be like every other citizen and when they turn 18 their life and vote is in their hands.  Meanwhile, parents are responsible for their children and their welfare until then.  If this wasn’t the case then why does social services even exist and intervene when parents aren’t doing their job? Clearly parents are responsible for their children legally.  A child cannot even be treated at a hospital without parental consent. So not only do I support and agree with Gov Youngkin and this policy buts it’s a shame it’s even in question to begin with! Stop the lunacy and brainwashing.  Stick to reading writing and math!  Meet kids where they are who are struggling, connect them to resources, help them steward all the hormones and odd things we all faced.  Investigate parents who are perverting and mutilating their children bc they don’t know how to parent or they have some sick perversion.  Social services should be taking those kids and placing them in healthy homes!  No one wants to talk about the suicide rates from this, the irreversible damage or the buffet being created for every predator and pedophile out there!

Do what’s right before God, after all we are one nation under God!  Protect our kids, respect our parents, honor our beliefs and stand on our constitution. 

CommentID: 202585