I utterly reject the Department of Education’s proposed model regulations drafted in response to that legislation HB 145 and SN 161 purely because it violates the First Amendment rights of parents to raise and care for their children.
If the Department of Education wishes to insert itself “in loco parentis” for a student struggling with gender dysphoria while at school, then presumably they’ll be willing to assume ALL medical, legal, and financial responsibilities that arise from the administration’s exclusive counsel and “care” of that child.
The DOE proposal undercuts open and honest conversation between parents and their children. It also obstructs parents from active involvement in the life of their child at school.
Moreover, the proposed guidance document violates the presumption of parental autonomy in Virginia. Code Sec. 1-240.1 provides that a parent has the fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education and care of the parent’s child.