The 2022 Model Policies define far fewer terms regarding gender identity than the 2021 Model Policies. The 2021 Model Policies defined eleven scientifically-backed and LGBTQ+-inclusive terms surrounding gender identity. The 2022 Model Policies define only two terms regarding gender identity: “sex” and “transgender student.”
Neither of these definitions meet the evidence-based best practices as is required in Va. Code § 22.1-23.3(A). Sex is defined as “biological sex” in the 2022 Model Policies. The 2022 Model Policies also define “transgender student” as “a public school student whose parent has requested in writing, due to their child’s persistent and sincere belief that his or her gender differs with his or her sex, that their child be so identified while at school.” Both these definitions use outdated and scientifically incorrect terminology in defining the trans identity. The 2022 Model Policies’ definitions and terminology cannot meet the evidence-based best practices requirement.
Notably, the 2022 Model Policies define being trans as depending on parents’ recognition instead of the student’s self-identification. They further call being trans the student’s “belief” which reinforces the false narrative that being trans is a choice as opposed to a deeply held knowledge and realization of one’s identity. It further operates on a male/female binary by using the term “his or her” that is demonstrably and scientifically false as it erases the existence of intersex and nonbinary people. This shift in definitions completely strips trans children of the self-determination of their identity in Virginia’s public schools.
This is wrong because it leaves Virginia students open to discrimination. Students in Virginia deserve to be as free of discrimination as they can possibly be, and these policies do not achieve this. Protecting students, for any and all reasons, should be of the utmost priority.
This affects my best friend’s younger brother. He is a transgender student in Virginia living under the roof of a step-parent who would never accept him if his identity was revealed. These policies, in that they place the onus on the parent to grant legitimacy to a student’s identity, will do just that for my friend’s brother and many other students in the state. He could lose housing. He could suffer violence. The mental exhaustion of dealing with teachers who may not respect him could make him perform worse in school or suffer from depression and anxiety.
For these reasons, I ask you to repeal the 2022 Model Policies and reinstate the 2021 Model Policies