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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2/1/21  12:04 pm
Commenter: Julie

Strongly Oppose
 

I strongly oppose this policy. I think it is important to be sensitive to children who struggle with gender dysphoria but this policy oversteps the rights of parental authority. It also sidesteps the science behind the diagnosis and may actually hinder a child who struggles with this and how the family is embracing it. This issue is not the be placed into the hands of the public school system. This is not about ideology, it is about a family and their privacy on a sensitive issue that should have freedom to be handled by the parents and their doctors. Don't go down this bad policy road Virginia, you'll be hit with lawsuits because your ideology is not balanced with common sense.

CommentID: 92673