The Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools contains content which will increase problems identified in the document rather than decrease those problems.
According to the document, the key guiding principle of the model policies is that all children have a right to learn, free from discrimination and harassment. The policies identified in the document do not increase this right for all children but do decrease for some children.
House Bill 145 and Senate Bill 161, enacted by the 2020 Virginia General Assembly, required the model include "evidence-based best practices". The following sections contain no evidence that this model will support the key guiding principle: Student Privacy/Confidentiality, School Records, Dress Code, Access to Activities and Facilities. The one section with evidence does not indicate this model will increase the key guiding principle but will only "lower" self harm behavior.
If enacted, this model will increase discrimination and harassment of groups of students. No evidence was presented that this model lowers discrimination and harassment for all students or increases the right to learn by all students. Before adopting this model, VDOE is encouraged to evaluate how this model will affect some students negatively.