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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1/18/21  11:08 am
Commenter: Anonymous

oppose with gentleness
 

I will spare all of you the details of my thought process.  However, I feel compelled as a parent (first of all) and taxpayer (secondarily) to oppose what seems to be a misguided effort to confirm basic rights. I do not believe these policies, as written, are aligned with simple logic.  If we were to extrapolate these policies to a natural next step, we are quickly asking policy-makers to establish guidelines where I dare to say that NOBODY (except perhaps the policy-makers themselves) wants to live.  (myriad examples come to mind that I dare not codify in writing...but if you disagree with me, do yourself a favor and let your mind wander to places this sort of policy might inadvertently cause harm or confusion)

Establishing basic rights was done in the constitution.  It needed to be clarified a few times in history and we are better for those clarifications.  This 'clarification' oversteps grossly and creates an environment, in my opinion, where we have lost sense of what should be intuitive.  I strongly oppose the proposal as it is written, although do not oppose the heart of the individuals wishing to create a 'safe space'...I acknowledge that language is my own.

 

CommentID: 90592