As a transgender educator based in Virginia, I have worked closely with transgender and gender non-conforming youth for the past six years, and I know quite well—better than many of the other commentators here—the many barriers that trans students currently face. Even in my own adult life, I have faced situations wherein people have refused to use my correct name or my pronouns. I have been mistreated when seeking services, including medical assistance. I have had to jump through many hoops in order to get access to the same basic protections and rights that so many cisgender Virginians enjoy. Transgender students in Virginia face these same challenges yet amplified even further by the circumstances of their age and their lack of agency in their educational settings. All of the model policies outlined in this guidance document are a step in the right direction: they provide clear guidance for school systems in how to create safe and supportive educational settings for transgender and gender non-conforming students. Title IX stipulates that a student's access to education cannot be limited on the basis of sex. To that end, we must act to protect the rights of students to be free from gender-based discrimination and harassment in our schools. I wish when I was a student, back in the day, that these policies had been in place. Let's act now to make our schools safer for the young people of today and tomorrow. I support this guidance document 100% and I am grateful to all the people that worked on it.