Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
Guidance Document Change: The Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools guidance document was developed in response to House Bill 145 and Senate Bill 161, enacted by the 2020 Virginia General Assembly, which directed the Virginia Department of Education to develop and make available to each school board model policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public elementary and secondary schools. These guidelines address common issues regarding transgender students in accordance with evidence-based best practices and include information, guidance, procedures, and standards relating to: compliance with applicable nondiscrimination laws; maintenance of a safe and supportive learning environment free from discrimination and harassment for all students; prevention of and response to bullying and harassment; maintenance of student records; identification of students; protection of student privacy and the confidentiality of sensitive information; enforcement of sex-based dress codes; and student participation in sex-specific school activities, events, and use of school facilities.
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2/3/21  7:35 pm
Commenter: Anonymous

Strongly Oppose
 

As a mother of a child who was bullied almost to the point of suicide, I definitely understand that bullying and mistreatment for any reason is wrong; however, to further separate transgender and LGBTQ students into yet another group for protection will not ultimately help those students it aims to protect.  This kind of legislation will further divide those who truly want to help these students and those who believe that these tendencies, though very real in many cases, should not be acted upon.  In addition, I believe there are many ways that local school boards can address their specific student needs without forcing the issue of allowing transgender students to use their restroom of choice or normalizing this behavior in curriculum for those families that absolutely disagree with this lifestyle.  The school is not the place for this kind of education.  It is within the home.  If this kind of curriculum is imposed, I believe that the default should be to be opted OUT and not into it.

CommentID: 96251