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Virginia governor wants to reduce protections for transgender students

Virginia governor wants to reduce protections for transgender students

Virginia governor wants to reduce protections for transgender students

Virginia governor wants to reduce protections for transgender students

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  • Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration issues new model policies for transgender students.
  • They roll back some accommodations and tighten parental notification requirements.
  • Policy is subject to a 30-day public comment period that opens later this month.
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The administration of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has rewritten Virginia’s model policies for transgender students, issuing guidance to school divisions that would roll back some accommodations and tighten parental notification requirements.

The Virginia Department of Education’s new model policies, which were posted online Friday, state that students’ participation in certain school programming and use of school facilities such as bathrooms or locker rooms should be based on their biological sex, with modifications offered only to the extent required by federal law. The policies also state that minor students must be referred to by their name and pronouns in their official records, unless a parent approves otherwise.

In terms of parental notification, the guidelines state that school divisions may not encourage teachers to keep a student’s gender a secret from his or her parents. They also argue that before gender counselling services are provided, parents must be given the opportunity to object.

The guidance will be subject to a 30-day public comment period, which will begin later this month. The document then states that, in accordance with a 2020 state law, local school boards must adopt policies that are “consistent with” the department’s but may be “more comprehensive.”

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According to Macaulay Porter, a Youngkin spokesperson, the updated policy “delivers on the governor’s commitment to preserving parental rights and upholding the dignity and respect of all public school students.”

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The revisions are a significant departure from guidance issued in 2021 during Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration. According to the guidelines, schools should allow students to use names and gender pronouns that reflect their gender identity without providing “substantiating evidence.” They also stated that students could participate in programming and access facilities in accordance with their gender identity, and they urged schools to weigh sharing information about students’ gender identity with parents on a “case-by-case” basis, taking into account students’ health and safety.

According to the revised guidelines, school divisions must ensure that no student is discriminated against or harassed because of his or her gender, and they must “attempt to accommodate students with distinctive needs, including any student with a persistent and sincere belief that his or her gender differs from his or her sex.”

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