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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1/5/21  9:31 am
Commenter: Esther Toppin

Do not approve the transgender policy
 

I do not approve of the transgender policy.  It is unfair to everyone except the student.  The teachers will never know what gender the student is on any given day.  The teachers have enough to deal with on a daily basis and do not need the distraction of having the students decide what gender they want to be today.  Also, teachers are not being given the option of opting out of the policy even if it goes against their conscience. 

The bathrooms and shower areas should be restricted to the students that are biologically the gender they were born with.  Otherwise boys or girls could be deciding on a gender to be voyeuristic.  Students would have no privacy as they undress or shower or use the bathroom. 

Gender discussions should be done at home with the parents.  Students are still under the guidance of the parents they live with, and the school should not have the authority to undermine that.  Parents might not even be aware their child has a gender problem if this is allowed by the school.  Students might be unduly influenced to make gender decisions by their peers when they really had no inclinations to do it on their own. 

Giving the minority rights that take away rights from the majority do not seem to be in the best interest of equality.

CommentID: 88177