I strongly oppose this policy on legal grounds. This proposed policy would be in violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity regardless of the individual's assigned sex at birth, Fourth Circuit rulings that schools must allow trans students to use facilities aligned with their gender identity and that gender dysphoria is a protected disability (Virginia is part of the Fourth Circuit), and the Civil Rights Act as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County.
"[A school district who limits what a student may do because they are] homosexual or transgender [limits] that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids." -- Bostock v. Clayton County, modified.
Additionally, I strongly oppose this policy on moral grounds.
1) Discriminating against transgender students in this manner goes against my strongly held religious beliefs and not allowing trans students to live in accordance with their gender identity may also similarly violate their deeply held beliefs.
2) As a taxpayer, a Virginia citizen and voter, and a Fairfax County Public Schools alumnus, I am appalled that the state government would interfere in the lives of marginalized students in this manner. The Commonwealth has a duty to do everything it can to protect the lives of the marginalized, and study after study after survey after survey clearly show that policies like this lead children to commit suicide. If this policy is put into effect, the Governor, the Department of Education, and any compliant school districts will have blood on their hands.
3) There are approximately 4,000 trans students out of 1.2 million students in the Commonwealth. I wonder why the Governor has directed the Department of Education to focus on it now when preexisting (2021) model policies were already in place and in compliance with state and federal law. It cannot be because there are major incidents, because there are none. There is no pressing crisis needing to be resolved. I am forced to conclude that the Department of Education is being used by the Governor to further his position in a culture war by crushing vulnerable students into submission.
I strongly oppose this policy for practical reasons:
The proposed modal policies seem to exist in a fantasy world where if you keep trans kids from living according to their gender identities, they will be able to simply "go back" to living as their sex assigned at birth with no issues and where all students and parents will agree on how to approach these subjects. These fantasies are just that -- detached from reality -- and will cause further problems for schools, parents, and students. Someone assigned female at birth but who has transitioned to male would be required to use the girls' restroom and locker room -- imagine the discomfort girls will feel when that student who appears to be male walks in. Imagine the discomfort boys will feel when a student assigned male at birth but who appears to be female walks in. Schools will be responsible for ascertaining what to do with students whose relationships with their parents may be irrevocably damaged -- or who may be expelled from their homes, denied funds for college, etc. -- if their parents find out they are trans. All of this places schools in unworkable situations at the expense of children.
Finally, I would like to enter the words of Virginia trans students about these policies into the record, as recorded by the Washington Post:
The Washington Post asked students statewide to share how they are feeling, garnering more than 260 submissions across 30 school districts as of Wednesday evening.
The vast majority were from transgender students who wrote in fear. Some who transitioned years ago are worried they will be outed to unsuspecting classmates. Others who are mid-transition, or just beginning to transition, are worried they will be outed to their parents and forced to leave home. Many wrote they are feeling angry, depressed, suicidal.
“Because of it, I’ll probably have multiple breakdowns a day, my grades will drop,” wrote a 16-year-old. “Everything I’ve worked so hard to overcome will have been for nothing.”
...
Over the next several days, Ace did not learn much. He was too busy worrying a teacher would approach him about his name or pronouns, although no one did. He worried someone might stop him on the way to the boys bathroom, although no one did that either. Still, Ace began minimizing restroom trips by skipping lunch or waiting until he got home. At night he took melatonin, seeking the release of sleep. It didn’t help.
Ace’s thoughts strayed to dark places. Before this year, Ace said, he has attempted suicide three times, most recently in November, because he was miserable over the wave of anti-transgender legislation appearing across the country. More than 300 bills restricting trans rights have been proposed nationwide, according to a Washington Post analysis, and many target schools.Since the Virginia guidelines’ release, Ace said, he has felt the impulse to harm himself. He does not know what he will do if he is forced to return to female pronouns and facilities at school.
“I would not be okay,” he said. “I could not deal with that. I would genuinely be a danger to myself.”
...
Ashton, who spoke on the condition that his last name not be used for fear of bullying, discovered he was transgender in seventh grade and began transitioning to male a year later. His parents were supportive, and — after wrangling briefly with Arlington Public Schools — he managed to get his names and pronouns changed in school records.
Now a deep-voiced 17-year-old senior and president of the Yorktown High School Gay-Straight Alliance (or GSA) club, Ashton passes as a male, he said. His school has gender-neutral bathrooms and he prefers to use those, but no one would look twice if he used the boys’ restroom. Apart from a small group of students who persist in harassing him, Ashton said, life at school feels almost as comfortable and accepting as life at home.
Ashton was relieved to see his school district put out a statement vowing opposition to the guidelines, one of a trio of Northern Virginia districts to do so. A handful of others have signaled they will comply, but most have yet to say anything. Still, Ashton feels unsure Arlington will succeed, so he is making preparations. First up is researching how to legally change his name. Second is trying to wrap his brain around using the girls’ restroom again. That will be more uncomfortable for girls than for him, he said, given he presents as male.
But mostly Ashton wishes he could speak directly to Youngkin. “You have to pay attention to the rights of children,” he would say. “There is nothing wrong or dirty about being trans. It’s just a part of us that we live with.”
...
The teen, a 17-year-old senior, was assigned male at birth but identifies as female. She came out to her parents a year ago, she said, but they refused to believe her. After several yelling matches, they decided to ignore the problem. Now, the teen and her parents live together uneasily, both sides afraid to broach the “taboo topic,” the teen said. The teen’s parents continue to use her old name and treat her as male. The teen spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from her parents.
School is the teen’s safe haven. Her teachers use her new name and pronouns, and she uses gender-neutral bathrooms. Some friends support her gender transition, encouraging the steps she’s taken — growing her hair out, painting her nails. The teen occasionally tries on dresses and skirts, too, which she says make her feel alive. But she has not dared wear those outside her bedroom.
Under the new guidelines, the teen is preparing for a very different life. No matter what her district says, she believes the guidelines will encourage teachers and student alike to harass transgender children. All she wants, now, is to disappear.
...
The teen has known they did not align with any gender for a long time. As a child, it felt wrong when they were told to “go play with the girls.” But the student’s parents do not believe transgender people exist, the teen said, and think being transgender is a ploy for attention.
Once, the teen tried to broach the subject with their parents — who value education — by proposing to fill out college applications as a trans student, perhaps easing the path to admission. The parents, alarmed, refused to let the teen speak with their younger sibling for a week, fearing a mention of trans people might “taint” the younger child’s mind, the teen said.
The teen went public with their gender identity at school this year, announcing a different name and pronouns to friends and teachers. Until this month, the student planned to make it through the rest of senior year by existing as their true self at school and a shriveled version at home. The teen dreams of attending a university in the Northeast and majoring in gender studies. The teen meant to tell their parents about their gender once they were much older.
Under the new guidelines, though, the teen fears their parents will learn the truth now — and can almost feel their future slipping away.
“It would lead to either me not having housing,” the teen said, “or them not being willing to pay for my college.”
In conclusion, I strongly, strongly oppose this policy and it should not be adopted by the Department of Education. The existing 2021 Model Policies should be maintained.