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 1:32 pm

Commenter: Anonymous Educator

Mixed Views

The new guidelines seem to promote "a specific viewpoint aimed at achieving cultural and social transformation in schools" just as much as the 2021 model. The 2021 model policies at least prioritize the well-being of the students with whom teachers and school staff interact every day. Many of the policies are common-sense and strive to be inclusive of all students, even if they could go too far in some cases.

For example, being called by their preferred name and pronouns is very important to transgender students, and that is a simple way to support the students as people. On the other hand, it can be difficult to teach an old dog new tricks, so teachers and staff should not be punished for the inevitable mistake. Outright refusal by teachers can only harm the child's education by creating an oppositional relationship where there was an opportunity to build trust.

Also, single-sex bathrooms should be limited to those born as a given biological sex, but single-user and/or non-gendered bathrooms are a reasonable solution.

The most concerning part of the new model policies is the assumption that the old policies "[require] individuals to adhere to or adopt a particular ideological belief" or "[compel] speech that is contrary to an individual’s personal or religious beliefs." There is a clear difference between being compelled to believe something oneself and supporting a student in whatever difficulties they face. Being compassionate does not require adopting the other person's ideology or abandoning one's religion. I can't imagine a teacher would refuse to engage with a student who is struggling with parental divorce or suicidal ideations on the grounds of religion or personal belief. One would seem to be terribly fragile if they could not work for the good of all students. If a teacher's beliefs are so entrenched that they can't offer struggling children a little empathy, perhaps they need to teach at a religious school. (And those schools should not be funded with public dollars. They can teach what they want, but they should pay for it themselves.)

The new model also emphasizes parental rights. Certainly, parents should be free to raise their children as they see fit within the law. But the unfortunate fact is that many parents are unable or unwilling to support their children as well as the children deserve, and so schools are forced to take on roles beyond education. Other students may not be comfortable telling their parents about struggles with gender identity. Teachers and other school employees might be the only trusted adults these students can go to. However, it seems like the new proposal will discourage students from using that opportunity, which will lead to worse outcomes for their health and personal development as well as their education.

CommentID: 198966