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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1/16/21  7:44 am
Commenter: Anonymous

Strongly Oppose Transgender Policy
 

I strongly oppose this model of proposed guidelines for transgender students. This will only cause more confusion and problems for all students, parents, and school staff.  Teachers have a hard enough job already, and with these changes. They would have to walk on egg shells to deal with this issue, with potential to lose their jobs if they say the wrong pronoun.  Parents have the right to know what is going on with their children at school.  These highly sensitive issues should be discussed at home, not at school, or be kept secret in any manner! Implementing these new policies will only lead to more parents choosing to take their children out of public school.  Kids do not need to be brainwashed thinking this is cool or normal at school. It also poses a dangerous threat to children when sharing bathrooms with someone of the opposite biological sex, who could be using this as a ploy to cause harm to others (and wouldn't even be questioned for it!). Thank you for this opportunity to share my thoughts, and please take all sides of this in consideration. 

CommentID: 90333