As the parent of a student in Arlington Public Schools, I strongly oppose the proposed 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools. I supported the evidence-based 2021 Model Policies on Transgender Students that protected trans students in school.
The proposed 2022 model policies go against the Virginia Human Rights Act, which expressly protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of gender identity in educational institutions. Schools should not be a place where transgender students feel unsafe or face discrimination.
Creating safe spaces at school for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive students allow these students to learn with less anxiety and worry over bathrooms and changing spaces for PE, and to feel safe from bullying and discrimination. Teachers and school administrators and staff must be free to support these students in accordance with the evidence-based recommendations of the major medical and mental health professional associations.
The 2022 model policies specifically discriminate against transgender students who are independently exploring their gender identity when their parents don’t accept them. These proposed model policies define transgender students as only those whose parents affirm them. Far too many young people can’t tell their parents about their gender identity because they fear that they will be abused or kicked out of their home. Public schools in Virginia must be a safe, affirming place for them, not another place where their identity is rejected.
As a parent, I want transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive students to feel safe and to thrive in school. These 2022 proposed model policies will make school much harder for these students and should be rejected. Please rescind these proposed 2022 model policies and reinstate the affirming 2021 Model Policies on Transgender Students.