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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1/12/21  6:37 pm
Commenter: David Henshaw

Terrible Policy! All kinds of issues...
 

The bottom line is there are only two sexes; male and female.

I have no issue if an adult decides to change their sex or identify differently--but a school policy that affirms children who are still developing is dangerous to their health and well-being.

How can you justify not informing a parent about THEIR child making life-changing decisions---ridiculous, and dangerous.  And then if a parent encourages their child to embrace their biological sex, then they're at risk of being reported for child abuse?  Seriously?  Also, if a family decides to raise their children as transgender, that's their personal decision---but don't punish other students/faculty for not conforming to their "preferred pronouns."  And on top of that, the school doesn't have to notify me if my child allegedly violates these policies?!!!

How will you prevent students from changing their "gender identity" to exploit a situation (example teen-age boy saying he's a girl so he can shower with the girl's swim team)? The definition is completely subjective.  How are faculty and students supposed to know on any given day which 'gender' a student identifies with?  And why are you not going to tell me that a biological male is in the locker room with my high school daughter?  This sounds like a law suit waiting to happen.

Dress code---so you're telling me a female who identifies as a male can go topless at a swim meet?  Do you think that might be distracting?  Or males wearing skirts?  Seriously?

I'm really disappointed with this policy!

CommentID: 89743