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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1/11/21  3:13 pm
Commenter: Kristen Mork, PhD

Fully endorse
 

There is a ton of great content in here. Thank you for putting this together. Some sentences struck me as particularly great:

"Regardless of the circumstances, the school should support the student’s need for privacy and not disclose a student’s gender identity to other students or parents."

"When a student undergoes a public gender transition, schools should work proactively to set clear boundaries about being gender inclusive and respond to negative reactions from the school community should they arise."

"School divisions should accept a student’s assertion of their gender identity without requiring any particular substantiating evidence, including diagnosis, treatment, or legal documents."

"A school employee’s intentional and persistent refusal to respect a student’s asserted name and pronoun is considered discriminatory."

"The protection of the student’s legal name and gender as sensitive information would prevent a student’s transgender status from being disclosed, such as by a substitute teacher."

"Dress codes, including hairstyles, should encompass broad guidelines that are not gender-specific and free of gender stereotypes."

"Students should be allowed to use the facility that corresponds to their consistently asserted gender identity."

Great job putting this together. The only deficiency I see is that the guidelines seem to avoid extending protections to transgender children who participate in athletic activities. I urge you to rectify that gap. Otherwise, this is stellar. Thank you!

CommentID: 89485