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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1/19/21 6:30 pm

Commenter: Ellen Heberling

As an educator, I SUPPORT our TRANS YOUTH!

It's imperative as educators (and just frankly as adults) that we make sure all students have a chance to be successful, and can do so in a safe, positive, loving environment. This policy that is being proposed is a step in the right direction. It's important that we respect a student's gender identity by accepting their pronouns or name changes. It's equally important to respect a student's privacy, if they request so, and schools need to develop policy to respect that.

This will positively affect the mental well-being of many of our students in the commonwealth.

CommentID: 90807