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.
Previous Comment     Next Comment     Back to List of Comments
9/27/22  10:05 am
Commenter: B. Riley, Ph.D.

bad policy that is harmful to students
 

Transgender individuals face numerous hardships without adding more to the mix. Just as no one chooses to be born a boy or a girl, straight or gay, no one chooses to have a body that is at odds with their fundamental sense of self. No one chooses to have a life that is going to be subject to constant scrutiny, skepticism, invalidation, and/or abuse.

In a culture that is hostile to gender nonconformity, schools may be one of the few places where a kid who is working through gender issues can feel safe to do so. Not every student has the blessing of having parents at home that are understanding, supportive, or nurturing. NO student deserves to be outed before they are ready to take that step themselves. 

This cruel, retrograde policy isn't about parents' rights, because parents don't have the power, let alone the right, to decide who their children are or how they should feel. No, this policy is red meat: a cynical wedge issue meant to divide "us" from "them," to cater to a reactionary base that is afraid of unisex restrooms and preferred pronouns, to bolster the governor's credentials as a culture warrior.

This proposal also does nothing to help or protect students. If anything, it would be detrimental to trans kids' physical and emotional safety, which are vital for academic progress. It also raises the risk of trauma, substance use, and self-harm/suicide.

As a professed Christian, the governor should look in his heart and fix whatever is missing there to appreciate that students are people, not pawns to be used in craven political maneuvers.

CommentID: 145745