Virginia Regulatory Town Hall View Comments

Department of Education

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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1/13/21 9:43 am

Commenter: G. Oxley

Strongly Support

I believe all Virginia students deserve to be treated with respect and have their education prioritized. In this case, doing so requires protections for our trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming students. These protections were not available when I went through the Virginia public school system. Gendered dress codes do not increase learning. Teachers disrespecting their students by using the wrong pronouns does not increase learning. Students having to only use prohibitively out of the way, singled out, poorly constructed bathroom facilities does not increase learning. Please put these protections in place to let students learn. Thank you.

CommentID: 89819