Strongly Opposed - Stop Political Stunts w/kids

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<p>I am strongly opposed to this bill. You need to stop playing politics with our kids and support all children. Yes some may be heterosexual, some gay, some trans - that is life. All kids need support, and there should be no barriers to prevent anyone from supporting a child or teen. And this bathroom issue is stupid and trans/homophobic. Honestly, the kids aren’t bothered by any of this - we all use same bathrooms in restaurants and at home, etc  But YOU are making a political issue out of this. Why wouldnt you want someone to go into the bathroom they feel most aligned with? Or if you’re so bothered, make a neutral  bathroom. Why politicize this? Why mentally mess with kids? Why push your limited narrow mindedness, on my own-minded kids? Why make them “other”? Why not be friendly, kind, accepting, and supportive of all kids?  Why these divisions, categories, hate and discrimination?  Get politics out of our schools and support all kids. </p>


STRONGLY OPPOSE 2022 Guidance

Andrea Grimaldi, former teacher VA resident. Voter & tax payer

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<p>All children have the right to free education and to be seen, heard and represented. As do their parents. </p>


Strongly agree with this bill

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Lying to parents and encouraging children to lie to their parents is deeply wrong and damaging. The argument that it's protecting children is nonsensical. If schools are worried about a child being abused then follow the normal guidelines and contact CPS. Cutting parents out of something so important as their child changing their name, pronouns and bathroom choices is insane. The school has no idea how the parents feel or what that particular child may be going through. So many young kids with underlying mental health issues are particularly susceptible to falling into the idea that their problems are due to being transgender. That is a huge red flag. Social transition is not harmless. When trusted adults agree that you must have been born in the wrong body and then help you hide this from your family it is devastating for them. Please make sure schools stop lying to parents.


Stop Purposely Harming Children

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Since 2013, HRC and other advocates have tracked over 200 cases of fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people across 30 states and 113 cities nationwide. Beyond fatal violence, the transgender and non-binary community faces higher rates of harassment and physical assault -- including transgender young people, with 43% of transgender youth reporting being bullied in school.

Laws targeting transgender people -- and the political rhetoric surrounding anti-transgender bills -- send a message that transgender people are not worthy of equal treatment, contributing to dangerous stigma that drives this epidemic of violence.

Bottom line: when transgender people aren’t valued -- including by their own lawmakers -- their lives are viewed by some as disposable, putting them at risk.

https://www.hrc.org/resources/myths-and-facts-battling-disinformation-about-transgender-rights


I oppose

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why is this even being discussed ?


Anti Trans Draft

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Strong oppose that follow through and passing of this draft


Strongly Support

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<p>The idea of equating support for Governor Younkin’s proposal with being anti-transgender is beyond ludicrous. Nothing could be further from the truth. The opponents use Orwellian double speak to it seem that if you don’t oppose this, you are evil. Parents have rights.  Teachers have a duty to teach their respective subjects in a neutral manner and avoid proselytizing.  The parents have the ultimate say in how their children are raised. Those who  advocate for supplanting parental rights in favor of the values of teacher’s and school administrators, and would keep this a secret from parents are essentially advocating for Marxism. </p>


Youngkin's policy

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<p>I strongly support this policy. Parents need and should know what is happening in their child's school. Protect our children! Get back to basics, reading, writing and arithmetic. </p>


Could not be more opposed

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Unnecessary, affects a small amount of children and makes a group that already feels threatened and vulnerable even more so.


Fully Support: Stop CHILD MUTILATION

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I fully support this action taken by the Governor and encourage him to stand strong on the issue. This is not political or cultural, it is good versus evil.

Additional action is needed to ban the practice of doctors prescribing hormone therapy for minors and a complete and total ban on any of the following procedures for children for non-medically necessary:

Castration - removal of the penis

Orchiectomy - removal of the testicles

Hysterectomies - removal of the uterus

Mastectomies - removal of the breasts

Vaginoplasties - creation of a vagina from penis and other genital tissue

Metoidioplasties - creating a fake penis on a biological girl

Oophorectomies - removal of the ovaries

Phalloplasties - creation of a fake penis from forearm or other tissue

Under the guise of "Gender Affirming Care" these surgical procedures are destroying our society's future; our children. The term "Gender Affirming Care" is a lie, it is child genital mutilation, plain and simple.

Social media and adult influences are poisoning the minds of our children leading to them making life-altering decisions that leave them sterilized and biologically dysfunctional for life. This is the single most important cultural issue of our time, and history will look kindly upon Governor Youngkin for this action. When our society inevitably faces the reckoning of extreme gender ideology being pushed on children, the "child trans rights" activists will cower in the face of their evils.

I am proud to have supported Governor Youngkin with this issue as a core reason.


Strongly Oppose These Regulations--They Promote Bigotry!

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<p>I strongly oppose the implementation of these proposed regulations. They promote prejudice and bigotry toward a group of children and youth who deserve equal protection and respect. Furthermore, they are quite likely to prevent children and youth who may need a listening ear from seeking counseling. </p>


Strongly OPPOSE Youngkin's anti-trans legislation.

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Trans Rights are Human Rights. It's that simple.

First and foremost, Gov Youngkin's proposed legislation is in direct opposition to the Virginia Human Rights Act, which protects all individuals in a public setting - which includes schools - from persecution and discrimination based on sexual identity.

And even more importantly, as well as certainly disturbing, is the fact that this legislation is basically BULLYING of students in their formative years.

Two years ago, Gov. Northam did the right thing by mandating the policy that transgender students be granted access to restrooms, locker rooms, changing facilities and school programs that match their gender identity. It also required schools and teachers to accept and use students’ gender pronouns and identities.

We can not go backward. Our students... ALL OUR STUDENTS deserve support, respect, and inclusion, no matter their age, race, or sexual identity.

DO NOT ALLOW YOUNGKIN'S UNFAIR AND BIASED PROPOSAL TO GO FORWARD.


A divisive policy by a divisive “Governor”.

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<p>Thank God my children have all finished w public school in VA. A divisive clown who was actually endorsed by Rump is a national embarrassment to those of us who will turn VA back blue where it belongs. U are guaranteeing a sound defeat of MAGA in next gubernatorial race. U have empowered crazies to get onto school boards and I would recommend that u get out of Loudoun’s business while ur at it, Frat Boy. I realize ur competing w DeSantis and Abbott to see who can be the most hateful and incompetent Governor but it’d be nice if real Virginians weren’t used as ur political pawns. U epitomize why all “politicians” should be term-limited. </p>


STRONGLY OPPOSE

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This is wrong and barbaric. This decision would actively put kids in danger from others without any protection. Do not kill out children.


Strongly oppose

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<p>I am a nonbinary adult who lives in Virginia. I realized I was not my birth gender when I was eleven years old. I understood who I was. Today, as a middle aged person, I still have the same view of my gender that I did then. There is absolutely no reason we should stop trusting our children to be able to tell us who they are, especially when they are LGBTQ+. All people get to decide who they are in their heart. These guidelines try to force antiquated beliefs on children and have nothing to do with their ability to learn or grow in school. Do not pass them. </p>


WOW

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Thanks to the NEA and the idiots that teach???? transgender feelings our youth are

being turned into queers


Strongly support Gov Youngkin policy

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I am a lifelong Democrat that is vehemently opposed to the policy of schools hiding a minor's new gender identity from parents. This is a school coming between a parent and their child. Before the government goes further down the gender ideology path it's important to note what Europe is doing. Why are so many teenage girls suddenly identifying as trans? It's the new form of puberty and angst, cutting themselves, becoming anorexic. When a school hides this information it often is hiding a child's coping mechanism for another issue. In the case of my daughter she was coping with an undisclosed sexual assault. Further, She needed therapy and NOT the gender affirmation model that your administration is pushing as the only option. Further it's horrifying to think a supreme court justice cannot or will not define the word woman. Pregnant woman is replaced with pregnant people. Girls are losing access to same sex dormitories, bathrooms and sports. I support truly trans people but not at the expense of impressionable minors. Kids are not allowed to take a Tylenol at school without written permission yet can change genders behind the backs of parents? I encourage you to look into the group Genspect to listen to hundreds of parents with children who have suddenly identified as trans. There is an element of social contagion and it's often children with other mental issues, or on the spectrum, with OCD and GAD. I have left the democratic party over this issue. Republicans may be going too far in the opposite direction but they are at least protecting kids and honoring parent rights.


Strongly Oppose Discriminatory Policies

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<p>I am writing because I strongly oppose these policies that limit the rights and freedoms of students in the state of Virginia. Transgender students already face an incredibly difficult high school experience compared to their peers; they face bullying from not only students but also by educators and faculty members who chose to ignore their human dignity and use them as an excuse to publicly display their own political beliefs. They may also face a lack of acceptance and support at home. The previous protection policies supported transgender students and their rights, it helped to make school a safer and more enjoyable place for all students. These proposed policies remove all of those benefits but also add extra harm by adding on to their isolation and social stigma trans students face. Transgender students already have decreased life expectancy and worse mental health outcomes because of the bullying and stigma and removing protections will only create greater harm for trans students in the state. Passing this policy will leave students depressed, isolation, and potentially suicidal. Passing this policy will put blood on the hands of the Governor and the rest of the Virginian officials who work to make sure trans students feel less welcome in their schools. Shame on Virginia for proposing this policy that they know is unpopular and know would not pass in any legislature or by any popular vote. Governor Youngkin has proven over the past years that he does not care about the people of Virginia and only cares about grandstanding on GOP issues to appease potential presidential voters. Shame on him and shame on any other official who helped work on this policy. The people of Virginia are facing real threats due to inflation and climate change and yet none of these real issues are a priority for the Governor or his administration. Do us all a favor and start focusing on issues that actually affect residents in your state instead of spending all your time trying to get your face on a national stage to impress potential primary voters. Governors Youngkin are a sham and the entire state of Virginia knows it. Attempts at harmful and cruel policies like this only further demonstrate that fact. </p>


Personal Responsibility

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Creating a policy that denies the existence of these exceptionally challenged students is an intentional failure to meet their basic needs. We can argue for months about who is right and wrong, but when Virginia faces the aftermath of a suicide by an affected child, the responsibility will undoubtedly haunt the supporters of this poorly conceived policy.

Whatever you believe or whatever any scientist or religion suggests, children affected by this policy will have their identities taken from them. As educators, you have to decide if being stubborn is worth their lives. If you truly believe their suicide, and there will be suicide, insignificant, you should stay out of education and away from children. Leave their care to people who actually DO care.

Thanks


Strongly agree

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<p>I agree with Governor Youngkin. </p>


Protect Children by Stopping this Policy

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The new proposed policies under the Youngkin administration go against the best understanding of how to protect trans children from bullying, harassment, physical violence, and abusive homes. This policy would be a step backwards for Virginia from the guidelines under the Northam administration and result in more harm to children than protection. As a citizen who truly cares about our children being safe and protected, I disagree with this proposed policy.


These policies are erasing the safe learning environment we have worked to create.


Strongly support Gov. Younkin's new Model Policies re the treatment of  Transgender students

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<p>My wife and I have 6 grandchildren - 3 girls and 3 boys - in Fairfax County Public Schools ranging from grade 1 to grade 10.  We strongly support the Governor's revised policies for the treatment of transgender students because they are a return to "common sense" which was so sadly lacking under the Northam Administration.  The previous policies seriously disadvantaged 99.5 % of students across Virginia to give the the 5% who believe they are or may be transgender special rights.  These new policies balance the rights of the majority with the rights of the minority which is the way democracies should function.   </p>


Support 100 Percent

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<p>I want public education to focus on math, science, reading and history. All this gender/ sexual/ identity crap is a harmful distraction from what our children ought to be learning. Thank you. </p>


Protect our kids from this detrimental confusion.

Youngkin supporter who is not a bot like one commentator said

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We voted Governor Youngkin in and need to follow his lead.


Let kids be kids.

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Let people be people. Let them choose what to call themselves. Let them learn with peace, autonomy, respect, and love. Do not police every expression kids have in school. They will talk to their parents about it when they are ready. Don't force the teachers to be the gender police, Lord knows teachers have enough to do already.


Protect Trans Students Rights

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Greetings Virginia Regulatory Town Hall,

I am a student enrolled at a Prince William County school. I am contacting you today regarding the released new model policy from Governor Glenn Youngkin administration and the Virginia Department of Education. I am one of many students who are against the proposed policy, and I am exercising my right within the 30-day public comment window. That being said, schools are meant to protect their students, but this new model policy will do the exact opposite. It will create an unsafe educational environment where LGBTQIA+ students will feel alone and not heard. A student’s reasoning for not coming out to their parents may range from an unaccepting household to simply not being ready to tell their parents, but either way, the school is in no position to forcefully out a student. If schools are granted permission to continuously deny students’ identities and accessibility to counseling, there is no doubt that this will only worsen LGBTQIA+ students’ mental health. This will not align with VDOE's mission to “to lead and facilitate the development and implementation of a quality public education system that meets the needs of students.”

I urge you to stop this model policy from passing.


Let kids be kids.


Strongly support Gov Youngkin policy


Protecting Trans rights is suicude prevention.

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PROTECTING TRANS RIGHTS IS A NEEED NOT A WANT


Strongly Oppose

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I strongly oppose the proposed policies. Please be a kind human for once and just accept people as they are.


Protect Trans Students Rights


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<p>Opposed we should be protecting our kids, not vilifying them and putting them in harms way. </p>


Opposed to this harmful practice against our vulnerable students

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As an educator for nearly thirty years, a grandparent of a Queer child, a member of the LGBTQ society, and a critical thinker and empathetic human being, I can tell you that this policy will harm an already fragile population. We need to keep all of our students safe from bullying, depression, low self esteem, and environments where they cannot study or learn material at the same level as other students.  They need to know that the adults who are teaching them and taking care of them respect them and will have their backs just as they do the other kids. They deserve kindness, fairness, and dignity.

If a child has at least one adult role model in their life who cares enough to help them out--be it a teacher, coach, guidance counselor, etc.--that child's chances of making it successfully to adulthood increase hugely. Add a second and it's even higher. All children need a support system and a chance to be successful.

Trans rights are human rights.


Trans rights are human rights. you're killing our kids

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<p>shame on anyone who agrees with this. this is 2022 we should all be more open and loving to all individuals regardless of gender or sexual identity. that there is so much hate in your hearts to create something like this is downright deplorable. You are not protecting kids. You are not acting out God's will. You are committing human rights violations by isolating these children and opening them up to abuse and cruelty. We should be protecting our trans kids, not trying to change them into someone they are not. </p>


I oppose.

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I oppose this and support trans kids rights


Schools are in dangerous territory

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Given the exponential rise of teens, largely teen girls who have suddenly taken on a trans identity with no childhood gender issues, the significant mental health comorbidities in this cohort, schools are not in a place to socially transition kids and exclude parents who know their child better than school staff. UK, Finland, Sweden have done systematic reviews and are concerned about this cohort and the affirmation pathway. Social transition leads to medical transition. The risk involved is great. I hope that it will not take lawsuits for schools to do the right thing - stay in their lane, involve parents, look at each child as a whole with a history and future. Parents, not school staff are in the best position to care for their children.


Trans Rights are Human Rights - I OPPOSE!!!!

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<p>School should be a safe place for ALL kids!! Get back to the fundamentals of BASIC HUMAN decency. I cannot oppose this proposal enough. </p>


Common sense approach

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<p>At any psych level you know how important parents are. To exclude parents based on the expectation that it will or could be negative is irrational. Teachers staff and pTA are not the ones to hold your kids and cry with them and walk through their experiences with with them. Unless you are willing to dedicate your life to them don’t block out parents.  We have seen firsthand that kids will take advantage of the system and to put other kids emotional and physical safety at risk is irresponsible.  </p>


Transgender Students

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You absolutely must withdraw your guidelines that discriminate against transgender students. Your guidelines for transgender students are uninformed, irresponsible and psychologically damaging to trans kids. In addition, your proposals are civil rights violations.


Strongly oppose. Human rights are not up for debate.


Strongly support Gov Youngkin policy

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I am a lifelong Democrat that is vehemently opposed to the policy of schools hiding a minor's new gender identity from parents. This is a school coming between a parent and their child. Before the government goes further down the gender ideology path it's important to note what Europe is doing. Why are so many teenage girls suddenly identifying as trans? It's the new form of puberty and angst, cutting themselves, becoming anorexic. When a school hides this information it often is hiding a child's coping mechanism for another issue. In the case of my daughter she was coping with an undisclosed sexual assault. Further, She needed therapy and NOT the gender affirmation model that your administration is pushing as the only option. Further it's horrifying to think a supreme court justice cannot or will not define the word woman. Pregnant woman is replaced with pregnant people. Girls are losing access to same sex dormitories, bathrooms and sports. I support truly trans people but not at the expense of impressionable minors. Kids are not allowed to take a Tylenol at school without written permission yet can change genders behind the backs of parents? I encourage you to look into the group Genspect to listen to hundreds of parents with children who have suddenly identified as trans. There is an element of social contagion and it's often children with other mental issues, or on the spectrum, with OCD and GAD. I have left the democratic party over this issue. Republicans may be going too far in the opposite direction but they are at least protecting kids and honoring parent rights.


GREATLY SUPPORT THIS

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<p>This is a tremendous improvement over the one it will replace. Parents are the primary educators of their children. They must have information about what is going on in their children's schools and must have the final say about their children's education. The schools must be accountable to the parents and transparent about what is going on in the classrooms. Also, there is NO reason for all the LGBT propaganda being any part of the education system. Schools are not there for political reasons and must NOT be pushing any group's agenda. </p>


Not your business if a kid is transgender

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<p>You must be one of the most ridiculous Maga Trump lover!! It is not your business if a student is transgender. What if your kid is? You probably don’t know as they must be very scared of you. You are a horrible Governor. Worst Virginia ever had. </p>


trans policy

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I strongly agree. Parents must always be informed of what is going on with their children. The school has no right to decide what is best for someone's child.


Strongly support Gov Youngkin policy


Oppose guidance - more kids will be harmed

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<p>I strongly oppose the new guidelines requiring trans kids to submit documentation and requests in order to use the bathroom.  These types of requirements are discriminatory and directly contradict Virginia providing a "safe environment" for all kids with protection from discrimination and bullying.  </p>


Strongly Oppose

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<p>The proposed policy is cruel and harmful to our children. Trans affirming policies save lives. </p>


Changes to Existing Policies for Transgender & Non-Binary Students

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Strongly OPPOSED to Governor Youngkin's proposed changes to existing policies for Transgender and Non-Binary students!  These children have a hard enough time in and out of school in normal circumstances; enacting these changes would make it worse for them and could lead to severe outcomes/deaths.  In addition, the current policies were enacted into law by the General Assembly.  Governor Youngkin can't just change laws with which he disagrees; if he wants to change a law, he must ask the General Assembly to either make changes to the law or repeal it entirely.  An Executive Order can't be used to change or eliminate a LAW!


Withhold all state funding from districts who resist

Sick of the left's bigotry, hate, fascism, and grooming.


Absolutely agree with this policy

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<p>As a parent it is essential you know what is going on in your children's lives. You are the only one that knows what is best for your son or daughter. It seems to me this policy gives the parents the right to advocate for their child and at the same time keeps everyone else's kids protected. So, I am not sure what the uproar is about. Do you as a parent not want that responsibility or do you want to continue to be oblivious? </p>


Strongly agree. Thank you.

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<p>I wish people would consider the rights of our daughters and how invasive it would be to have a male in their bathroom or locker room. Some girls (very sadly) have been abused by males and therefor do not feel comfortable with a male in such a private area.  Even though I have sincere sympathy for those who are considering their gender, I wish we would have more consideration for women/girls who seem to be pushed to the end of the line with their feeling of safety to appease others.  I believe we can have gender neutral bathrooms and locker rooms separate from the boys and girls.  </p>


Absolutely unacceptable. LGBTQI youth are already and at greater  risk of suicide and self harm.

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<p>Our youth need supportive polices ! </p>


Strongly support Youngkins policy

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Strongly support the new policy


Youngkin only cares about parents, not students

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As a Virginian and an educator, I am STRONGLY opposed to the governor's proposed policies regarding our innocent transgender and nonbinary students. The current governor of Virginia does not support student rights. He is only pushing the agenda of conservative and narrow-minded citizens. These "model practices" will only harm students, no matter how they identify. There is research upon research that proves this.


Governor Youngkin doesn't care about suicidal youth

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I highly doubt anyone will read this or that it will change anyone's mind, least of all a governor that is clearly just setting himself up for a presidential run. But to anyone in favor of this new guidance, I would ask you to consider for at least one moment the possibility that you're wrong. I know that's a scary thought. It's also scary to think that maybe your children have autonomy from you and you don't get to fully control the direction of their lives. But denying children the chance to discover who they truly are isn't going to fix anything! It will inevitably lead to worse mental health outcomes including suicide. Are we ok with that, as a society? It's worth it to you to have children harm themselves so long as Timmy doesn't go by Kimmy now? To be clear, all of this is just about social transitioning. Schools don't give out hormones and they certainly don't do surgery. This guidance isn't about protecting children. It's about protecting squeamish parents who are terrified of change.


Opposed to Change- contrary to child development science, medical health, and respect of rights

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I am a child development researcher with 40+ years experience and a former director of one of the largest child mental health institutes in the country.  I am also a parent and have a transgender family member in my extended family.  This planned change is obviously not intended to improve education or parental rights, but to appeal to a small minority of parents that want their world view imposed on all.  It is a false solution to a "problem"created to make cheap political points.  It is contrary to scientific and medical knowledge about transgender children, the issues they face, and the approach that best enable good education for all while considerate of human rights.  The basis for these attacks and conclusions listed in the policy statement are out of date and most are simply incorrect as to current educational and child development knowledge.  Only harm will result.


I strongly oppose this,

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i strongly oppose this, it infringes on Trans rights everywhere.


Strongly support.

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Strongly support! Teaching math, science, history should be a priority! Parental rights.


Protecting Trans Kids Saves Lives

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I am an outpatient trauma therapist who sees trans and nonbinary youth on a regular basis for therapy. In my line of work we define trauma as "too much too soon" and when transgender youth are forced to be outed without protection in schools it is just that, too much too soon and incredibly traumatizing. Transgender youth are already more likely to experience serious mental illness and higher rates of suicide. Anything other than protection, celebration, and affirmation of their identity causes harm and may increase the already devastating number of children dying by suicide. The proposed policy pretends that it is doing what is right by children and youth, but medical and mental health communities everywhere already agree that these types of policies are extremely dangerous.


Strongly Oppose

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I am the parent of two biological boys who identify as boys. I am not personally impacted by parenting or caring for a child who struggles with gender identity or sexual orientation. However, I know and love many kids who are. I have seen vibrant, happy, strong kids face really low depths of sadness as they struggle to come to terms with their gender identity. These kids in particular that I know are lucky enough to have supportive and loving parents who are helping them to safely navigate this new territory, but the reality is not all kids have that.

While I don't think the school should then step in and parent those kids, for kids who are navigating this world on their own the school should absolutely be supportive and respectful.

I think the most basic form of support is to call a child by their preferred name and pronoun. If no other element is struck from this absurd and illegal proposed policy, at least strike the school personnel's right to misgender a child. In what world is that protected free speech? How would any of us like to learn that our child has come home to report that a teacher is calling them the wrong name after being repeatedly told what the correct name is. It is alienating and prevents that adult from forming a trusting relationship with that kid, which will hinder their ability to learn and thrive.

For those who feel strongly about the idea of "grooming" please use this as an opportunity to advocate for better sex education and encourage all adults who interact with kids to be trained in a research based sexual abuse prevention curriculum such as Darkness to Light.  If preventing sexual abuse is your reason for supporting this policy change, please start by learning from those who have dedicated their lives to protecting children and preventing sexual abuse and don't take advice from pundits, politicians, and talkingheads who just want to scare you for their own profit and power.

Please work toward making schools a welcoming and inclusive place. Our kids spend the majority of their waking hours within these walls and with these adults. Please don't undo the life saving work that has been done to respect and honor a child's preferred pronoun and name.


Strongly support parents raising their children

KP, parent of Dinwiddie Co. school children

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Parents have the right to instill in and nurture values and beliefs for their own children and make decisions concerning their children’s education and upbringing in accordance with their customs, faith, and family culture. YES!

Children are short-sided and lack the ability to understand the impacts of life changing decisions. They need parents to guide them and help them in their journey. This would ensure children and schools are communicating with parents so together a family can make a decision on what’s best. It also protects young girls and their needs of privacy and safety because a young boy can’t one day decide he wants to follow a girl into a restroom for his own hormonal pleasures and not because he actually identifies as a female.

At the end of the day, we as parents should know what’s going on with our children and not be left in the dark. Where does it stop without this? Will schools allow my child to get on a friends bus without my permission? Stop going to school all together? Why not let them start driving a car at 12? Smoke cigarettes at 14? Let kids be kids. Let parents be parents. Let schools educate not indoctrinate.


Cheap political stunt

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This stunt is mean-spirited and solves no problem any Virginian has.  How many ACTUAL PARENTS have had a transgendered kid in THEIR kid's classroom, where a problem arose that the teacher and the student couldn't solve humanely and quietly?  This is a "solution:" in search of a problem, or more precisely, in search of a Fox News camera. Why adults are so fascinated in the sexual interests of teens is a disturbing question.

Where is Youngkin's plan to halt the book-burners?


Strongly agree. Thank you.


Oppose

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We need to treat all students with respect and dignity.


OPPOSED

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This policy is not in line with your purported concern for the mental health of children, and I am strongly opposed to its implementation.


Strongly support Youngkins policy


Transgender, gender identity, gender presentation, genetic gender, etc.

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There is a balance that must be struck between parents desires, student education and the growth of students in who or what the student thinks they are. Students are not just going to school for education. They are going to learn about each other, themselves and life. This includes the whole of the topic of gender and its various facets. To deny this is the same as denying them and stunting their growth. To teach respectfulness that includes those facets of gender. Not forcing transgender students to use a facility that makes them uncomfortable. Acceptance of pronouns that respect their identity. Being addressed by a nickname that they believe and feel better represents themselves. Respect is, shown, taught and earned, but never forced. That’s fear and hate. I do not support the changes that remove that respect for the students.


Strongly support Gov Youngkin policy

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I am a lifelong Democrat that is vehemently opposed to the policy of schools hiding a minor's new gender identity from parents. This is a school coming between a parent and their child. Before the government goes further down the gender ideology path it's important to note what Europe is doing. Why are so many teenage girls suddenly identifying as trans? It's the new form of puberty and angst, cutting themselves, becoming anorexic. When a school hides this information it often is hiding a child's coping mechanism for another issue. In the case of my daughter she was coping with an undisclosed sexual assault. Further, She needed therapy and NOT the gender affirmation model that your administration is pushing as the only option. Further it's horrifying to think a supreme court justice cannot or will not define the word woman. Pregnant woman is replaced with pregnant people. Girls are losing access to same sex dormitories, bathrooms and sports. I support truly trans people but not at the expense of impressionable minors. Kids are not allowed to take a Tylenol at school without written permission yet can change genders behind the backs of parents? I encourage you to look into the group Genspect to listen to hundreds of parents with children who have suddenly identified as trans. There is an element of social contagion and it's often children with other mental issues, or on the spectrum, with OCD and GAD. I have left the democratic party over this issue. Republicans may be going too far in the opposite direction but they are at least protecting kids and honoring parent rights.


Against

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<p>I am against this policy - all kids do not have understanding parents. Governor Youngkin is naive to think that all parents will 'be there to support' if a child comes to them to address wanting to be addressed by a name other than what they were given at birth or identifies as a gender other than the gender they were assigned at birth.  I personally have come across my own children's friends who cannot go to their parents with this or have gone to them and the parents were less than supporting.  These children need a safe place to be themselves, someone that they can talk to without judgement and a lot of time this is not at home.  </p>


Strongly support

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I am the parent of a formerly trans identifying child. The school hid the fact that they were socially transitioning our child. This caused harm to our family and confusion for our child. The school started to create a wedge between us and our child. We were forced to remove our child from school and all of the affirming influences. As soon as we did this our daughter’s mental health improved and she became comfortable with herself as a girl. If we hadn’t removed her from public school she likely would have continued with her confusion as they were celebrating it and supporting it at the school. She likely would have gone down a path towards irreversible medical harms as has happened to so many others who later regretted it. Social transition is a powerful psychotherapeutic treatment. Schools are not treatment centers nor should they be. I hope this policy revision passes to prevent further harms to children. Thank you.


Strongly oppose

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This seems like an attempt to move backward. We don't need that - let kids be themselves.


Strongly support Gov Youngkin policy


Strongly Oppose

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<p>Please stop picking on LGBTQ and Trans kids, they have enough they are dealing with in their life without additional and needless harm.  </p>


Support, don't teach children to lie to their parents

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It makes no sense to tell a child they can't talk to their parents about anything and everything. I support Governor Youngkin! He's right, there have to be guidelines.


Anti-trans Bill: Don't introduce bills that affect a whole community without input from them!

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Dear Governor,

I have worked in the school system for many years. LGBTQIA+ rights has been a passion of mine for decades. I cannot believe an elected official, the highest elected official in our state, would introduce legislature that goes so far against all research in this arena.

Research shows that transgender kids are aware they are transgender by preschool. From the time they are aware of what gender is, they are able to identify that they are not the gender they were assigned at birth. Many do not come out and live as their true selves until much later and this is generally because they do not have accepting adults in their lives or they do not yet have the vocabulary to accurately express themselves or their gender is fluid and changes often. Over 60% of transgender youth have engaged in self harm. 75% of them have anxiety disorders. 40% have seriously contemplated suicide. Having just ONE accepting adult reduces these risks tremendously. For many of these kids, school is their safe haven. Teachers, counselors, and other adults are the ones that accept them and reduce their risks of self harm and suicide completion. This bill would harm these students beyond belief.  (Trevor Project)

This bill does nothing to protect students. It is harmful just to be cruel and use these kids as pawns in a bigger political scheme. Using a student's correct pronoun and name also reduces many of the risks they face. Many students do not live in homes that are safe. Outting them to their parents could result in homelessness. Students should be able to live their truth on their own terms. They should have the autonomy to decide when to come out and who they want to tell. It is a deeply personal and profound decision for many. Teachers who are viewed as safe spaces should be able to remain so. They should not be forced to out a child. They should be able to use the child's correct pronouns and correct name. This is life saving, affirming care for their students. If this bill is passed, there will be blood on your hands. The research backs this up over and over again.

Imagine needing to pee. Imagine being in a place for 8+ hours a day and not feeling safe to go to the bathroom. What restroom would you choose, right now? Now imagine if someone forced you to go to the other one. Every day. Every time. How embarrassed you'd feel. Would you avoid going? 80% of transgender students reported avoiding bathrooms. Allowing students to use the bathroom that matches their gender should be a basic right. No one should feel unsafe going to the bathroom. Single stall ones should be available for those who don't feel safe going to either the girls or boys. 43% of students reported missing school because they didn't feel safe going to the bathroom. 83% reported being victimized by their gender. How will this bill help them? How will this bill cut back on the atrocious amount of bullying that this group of KIDS already faces? Over half of transgender people, including adults, just don't even go out in public... just because they fear going into a restroom. This is not ok. Schools were making great strides to help protect these children and make them feel safe and this bill will backtrack all of that. (GLSEN National Survey, 2019).

I work in Chesterfield County Public Schools. I have trained my teachers in how to be safe spaces for ALL of our students. I applauded our school board when they put into policy protections for our transgender students, including allowing them to use the bathroom that matched their gender, not being outted by their teachers, and ensuring teachers use their correct pronouns and gender.

I don't understand how you could draft this bill, which will affect thousands of children across the state, without actually consulting with them. Did anyone take the time to ask them what they need to feel safe? Has anyone done research to how this will affect these already vulnerable and marginalized students? If you look at GLSEN and Trevor Project, the data is VERY CLEAR on this. This will harm students. It has the potential to increase LGBTQIA+ homelessness when kids get kicked out of their homes, suicidal thoughts, attempts, and completions, anxiety and depression, drop out rates when students don't feel safe coming to school, and medical issues when they hold it because they are scared to go to the bathroom.

Please, please, please do not pass this bill. I work with these students. They are all amazing humans. It's a joy to see them come into their own in a school that sees them for who they are and supports them. Allow us to keep doing work that empowers them and affirms their identities. Allow them the autonomy to go by their own names, their own pronouns and respect their journeys as they figure out who they are and who they want to let into their true selves. Every human deserves those basic rights. The right to introduce themselves, to use the bathroom, to be seen.

Thank you,

Samantha Wilkinson


Respecting the rights of LGBTQIA+ students

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I recently learned of the administration’s proposal to remove important protections for LGBTQIA+ students as outlined in the new Virginia Department of Education “Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools.”

These new policies effectively revoke the established rights of LGBTQIA+ students, one of the most vulnerable and at-risk groups. More than half of transgender and nonbinary youth have seriously considered self-harm and suicide. To ignore and exacerbate their needs amid a broader mental health crisis will only pour fuel on an ongoing crisis in communities throughout Virginia.

These proposed changes are not just bad policy, they are also cruel. Among other things, they would prohibit students from being addressed by their real names and pronouns, deny students access to facilities that align with their gender identity, and potentially force schools to out LGBTQIA+ students.

When looking back on the painful history of the struggle for civil rights in Virginia, it is important to remember that future generations will not look kindly on leaders who fail to stand up for the basic civil and human rights of their fellow Virginians.

I hope you will consider the importance of representing and standing up for all communities – especially the most vulnerable among us – and reject these detrimental policy changes.


Gov Youngkin Model Policy for K - 12

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<p>Strongly support. </p>


Nothing good can come from this.

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It is important for children to have environments in which they can safely question and make changes to their identity.  Knowing who you are is an important part of life and having the space in which to question or discover one's own truth is the purpose of an education and vitally important to the defense of social and legal freedom.

Ensuring that schools can be such environments supports the mission of schools (to educate and prepare children for life as full and independent members of society).

It is also, importantly, the right thing to do.

Protecting children from harm and educating them about the world such that they can be ready to take part in it when they are adults, is the right thing to do.

Protecting children who are members of marginalized communities from harm which may come to them from others is likewise the right thing to do.

I will make other assertions in my comments here about the efficacy and purpose of educational institutions and the deleterious effect policies like the ones under discussion would have, but I learned a thing or two about short essay writing in school, so I don't want to bury the lede on my thesis: standing against these policies is the right thing to do.

But beyond questions of "mere" righteousness, let us ask what outcomes are likely if educational institutions were to adopt these policies.

A policy which has as its core a desire to increase and reify into desirable practice the direction of harassment and very possibly violence against any student is one which is not only unworthy of consideration, but one antithetical to the values one presumes the school wishes to instill in the children under its care.  If the children are taught that thinking for themselves is dangerous, why should they desire to think?  If the children are taught that gaining knowledge about themselves or the world will result in punishment, why should they desire to study?  If the children are taught that harassing or harming the vulnerable is applauded, why should they not become violent opportunists?  If the children are taught that a teacher is someone who diminishes them if they do not fit into a very narrow box, why should they trust the teacher to understand anything except how to hammer them into that box?  If the children are taught that school is not a place to learn and grow and change into the adults they wish to be, but instead exists as a pretense to punish, why should they desire to engage with the wealth of education on offer to them? If the children are taught that their existence is to be governed by those who wish to do them harm, why should they have any desire to take part in the great American experiment?

We are always teaching children and that makes the policies we adults enact upon schools particularly important.  Policies like the one under discussion are not for these children's benefit, but for the convenience of others.  Policies like the one under discussion do not evidence any attempts to make happy, well-adjusted, and well-educated adults, but to visit violence upon children who do not think their parents can be trusted to treat them like full human beings.  Policies like the one under discussion attempt to stir up harassment and violence toward children among children and adults.

There is no world in which this does not end with multiple dead children.  This is, certainly, not the stated goal of the policy, but what other outcomes can there be?  Every part of it is designed to create a threat of violence--physical or social--among young people, whose emotional reactions are notorious for being extreme.  If the children subject to this policy do not kill themselves, there is a non-zero chance that the parents informed in line with this policy will do so themselves.  Is that too far?  Perhaps.  Is it impossible that a child who is a part of a marginalized community acts one way in school and another around their parents because they fear being removed from their home or violence being visited upon them?  It does not seem unlikely.  Nor should it, considering the fact that teachers are mandated reporters of abuse, which at least implies that teachers are aware of the capacity of parents to enact harm upon their children and that society as a whole is aware of this fact.  The mandated reporter status may include some thorny issues all its own, but its existence illustrates what I'm talking about when I talk about policies and their desired outcomes.

There is likewise a chance that a student with so large a target painted on them (because what other purpose can this policy serve?) may fall victim to another student who looks for easy targets.  After all, even the government says that it's okay to hurt children whose gender expression or preferred pronouns or preferred names are out of step with what others assume about them, so why should a child seeking approval from the people who enacted a policy designed to instigate violence against certain students NOT do violence to those students?  That is what any administration acting in concert with this policy has informed them (in actions as much as in words) is a desirable and worthy outcome.  Any pretense to the contrary is laughably self-deceptive on its face.

In what world is "anyone who does this should be removed from society" not an invitation to remove someone from society?

The rules we make for children in schools are a large part of what children grow to view as the ground state of society.  A school which would rather do violence to students than teach them is a school unworthy of the title.  A school which would seek out new ways to harm already-vulnerable students is not a collection of educators working to nurture the next generation, but an association of petty autocrats who cannot with any integrity talk about the values which America holds dear.

I cannot account for the beliefs of any adult who believes that they are commanded to treat violently or with contempt children who have been placed into their care by choice, by fate, or by their interpretation of their religion and I cannot imagine what words might sway them away from that course of action.  But the purpose of a school is to offer children a place in which they can gather as much information about the world as we adults can give them and allow them to make their own decisions because they will be our peers far, far sooner than we imagine.

If one were to argue that these policies are in service of simplifying the school experience by removing from it any element of the children acting or existing in a social context, I would ask what useful educational goal can be achieved by removing from its practice the fact that the children subject to any policy are children and all of them are possessed of a social existence?  And if it is acceptable to cause upset in a child because we do not respect them in one way, why?  The child in question is doing nothing but expressing what makes them comfortable, the way one might say they preferred to be called "Peter" rather than "Pete" or "Will" rather than "Bill"; it is more disruptive to the educational process to drag it out and, again, possibly dangerous to the students if one were to call their parents and get their permission to call them something else.  And even if this kind of policy were to be applied across the board, bothering parents with calls or notes home or emails or what-have-you to see if it's okay to call their daughter Stephanie "Steph" instead are a waste of the parent's time and the teacher's.

Which brings me at last to the "parental control" aspect of it all.  Of course, I understand that certain parents' concept of control over their children will be rather more extreme than others' and I respect that they may feel that their rights are trod upon when their children exert their independence in any environment, particularly one as difficult for them to monitor as a school.  Absolutely, they are free to feel that.  But the purpose of a school is to help children, who are all of them people and citizens of this country, learn how to be independent adults capable of making their own decisions, as they must one day do without their parents or other legal guardians.  A child who feels confident enough to come out and attempt a small-scale social transition, even if it's only at school, is an outcome we, as citizens, should want to see because that means the school has succeeded in creating an environment which has nurtured a child's curiosity and made them feel confident in themselves and their place in the world.  They have weighed the social risks, done some soul-searching, and come to a conclusion about the person they want to be.  It may seem (for the moment) more dramatic than a child doing a project on Thomas Paine and deciding to emulate him, or a child getting a spark of interest in the works of Harper Lee or the life of Frederick Douglass and shape the person they want to become accordingly, but the effect is that they have not merely heard and memorized strings of words: they have grown as people and become better ready to meet the challenges adult life is going to throw their way.  School must be a place where a child can hear and explore new ideas and see if there is a way to fit them into the patterns set in place by their parents.  If it is not that, it is not a place for education.  If nothing new can be added to the child's understanding of the world and themselves, we as adults are failing them because the world outside of childhood is wide and strange and full of complicated concepts which require a mind which has at least been given a basic understanding of the history and nature of the world and which has been allowed to question, grow, change, and form independent thoughts.  This is the nature of freedom and of citizenship.

As adults, we make sacrifices of our own comfort, of our time, of money, to ensure that the next batch of adults come into a world that is a little better; and if not a little better, we do these things so the children will be better able to meet the world on its own terms as opposed to those we might wish were there.  And we can only give them that experience if we allow these children to become the people they want to be, to learn, and grow, and change, and through experience become our peers.  And they only have that opportunity if we, the responsible adults, ensure that their first proving grounds for becoming the next batch of responsible adults is fit for purpose.

We can only ensure our schools are fit for purpose if we reject--loudly--policies like those under discussion, which exist not to enrich, but to punish; not to educate, but to threaten; not to offer, but to steal.


overriding transgender policies and rights

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I oppose Youngkin's attempts to override the previous administrations' policies giving every student their rights.  Tired of republicans taking us backwards.  They say they're small government as they force more repressive policies


I oppose


Strongly oppose the new policy. Protect trans and non-binary students!

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<p>LGBTQIA+ children deserve protection in schools! This policy will harm them. </p>


I fully support this plan to keep parents in charge of their children’s moral guidance!

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<p>This allows parents to make and be aware of changes to child’s education and well-being. It also safeguards children from potential predators who have issues that are being masked by the new trend to ignore all abuse and grooming and label the diagnosis as dysphoria. This doesn’t allow for in depth counseling and ignore possible important background info. This mental health crisis affects normative kids who will not know they need to be on guard because they are taught to judge no situation in a bathroom as dangerous. Then we have another cycle where child may be made aware of adult content because disassociating child will be acting out their trauma by not getting proper treatment. </p>


Strongly Oppose

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<p>As a queer woman and a Virginia resident I strongly oppose these anti-trans policies.  I have wonderful trans folks in my life and I have seen how vital it is to affirm their identities.  Affirming gender identity and supporting trans children literally saves lives.  If these new policies are adopted there will be real harm to children.  Protecting trans children is part of protecting all children. </p>


Youngkin's disrespect of transgender students

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I totally oppose Youngkin's stand on transgender students. He has taken away their voices. Here in Hanover County the school board has gone so far as to require a criminal background check in the application to be considered anything but birth gender.


STRONGLY OPPOSE!

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I vehemently oppose this legislation. It will directly put children in dangerous situations, and will result in so much pain, suffering, and death. We must protect trans youth, not kill them.


Children: I would like to learn English and math and science and history, please

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The left is a plague. Figure it out already.


Strongly oppose these abhorrent and dangerous policy changes

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These policies show a lack of empathy and understanding for trans youth and what they go through on a day-to-day basis. They're out of touch with the reality of the lives that they will be affecting.


STRONGLY OPPOSE

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I am a transgender VA resident who attended VA public schools strongly oppose this policy! This will only strip away the support Trans kids have in schools and our communities. This policy is NOT in the interest of saving lives or for the well fare or protection of 'free speech' for students / parents.

I support our students in their walk outs. I support all teachers / staff / parents opposing this policy change. Shame on anyone voting for it.


This is a terrible policy decision.

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This is a terrible policy decision.


Strongly Oppose proposed transgender policy

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Transgender policies are not broken so don't "fix" them by implementing the Youngkin proposed policies.  Support and value our children.....all of them.  Show kindness and compassion.  These changes are proposed out of fear and ignorance. Shame on our Governor and his fear mongering.


Individual human rights (even those of a child) > Parents > Government

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Children are supposed to become increasingly independent and self-directed with age. This guidance says that a child younger than 18 can't even determine what they wish to be called on a daily basis. No adult would accept being called by a name they don't prefer and no adult would object to a teacher calling a student named Andrew by the name "Andy" if that child prefers.

This Guidance is the state government overreaching to control teachers in their own classrooms (ignoring district-level educational decisions) and to strip basic human rights from children in school (ignoring their human rights). If we require students to attend school, we must give them respect and rights in that environment.


Strongly Support these Model Policies.

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<p>I strongly support the 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools.  </p>


Oppose

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As a healthcare professional in Virginia, that works with children and teenagers, I definitively oppose this proposed bill. If we are truly wanting to give power to the parents, then why can parents not say that their child can be called by a name and or gender of their choosing, and not be good enough without the need for a court order. This bill will have a detrimental effect on children and youth who are already marginalized and vulnerable to bullying, hate, abuse, homicide, and suicide. This political stunt will absolutely harm children teens, their family in the community, and is unconscionable. As a Christian and a nurse I 100% oppose a bill of this nature.


Funding

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Funds should be provided to the mentally ill  who cant decide if they should stand or squat to pee.


Leave Identities ALONE!

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<p>If love and care are hardly partisian issues (as you said during your campaign), why are you treading on the identities of students AND the ability for educators to care for their students?  Why do you think government should back off on other issues but you're putting your heavy hand on individuals' identities?  </p>
<p> </p>


Strong Dissent; Changes are Unconscionable and Dangerous

The changes to this guidance document only serve to fan the flames of a transphobic panic. They will not protect the rights of anybody; this only serves to single out and abuse children who are trans, questioning, or gender-nonconforming. Real people, including real children, are caught in the crossfire by the witch-hunt against trans identities. These policies are abusive to a group that already sees themselves being threatened physically and attacked by random individuals, media outlets, and legislators alike.We cannot allow the way our schools treat children to mandate abuse and bullying on this scale, or any scale. There is no excuse. Supporting these changes means wishing the worst for trans youth, or any who deviate from the norm of gender based on their teacher's expectations. This change endorses wishing children harm over allowing them to exist.In addition, it is a legal transgression. Besides the contents of the changes being abhorrent, such a change cannot be allowed to come about through such a back-alley means. If this is an issue for legislation, it should be legislated. It should see a vote. The voices of Virginians should be heard.

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The changes to this guidance document only serve to fan the flames of a transphobic panic. They will not protect the rights of anybody; this only serves to single out and abuse children who are trans, questioning, or gender-nonconforming. Real people, including real children, are caught in the crossfire by the witch-hunt against trans identities. These policies are abusive to a group that already sees themselves being threatened physically and attacked by random individuals, media outlets, and legislators alike.
We cannot allow the way our schools treat children to mandate abuse and bullying on this scale, or any scale. There is no excuse. Supporting these changes means wishing the worst for trans youth, or any who deviate from the norm of gender based on their teacher's expectations. This change endorses wishing children harm over allowing them to exist.
In addition, it is a legal transgression. Besides the contents of the changes being abhorrent, such a change cannot be allowed to come about through such a back-alley means. If this is an issue for legislation, it should be legislated. It should see a vote. The voices of Virginians should be heard.


bad, bad, bad

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https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0886260520915554

if you want trans kids to kill themselves, do this bad thing.

if you want trans kids to live -- and be loved, even -- don't do this bad thing.


Public school parent STRONGLY OPPOSE. Restricting trans rights is a step backwards.

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<p>Restricting the rights of transgendered students is a step backwards for Virginia. We should be a state that is tolerant to all and this policy does not promote inclusivity.  I strongly oppose. </p>


Pronouns


Protecting Trans Kids Saves Lives


Stop being fascists


Strongly opposed to Youngkin Anti LGBTQ+ policy

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Strongly opposed to this policy. Will harm student’s mental health and safety and security. School can be some kids only safe space and teachers can be some kids only safe, supportive adult.  This totally undermines well-being of LGBTQ+ students.


STRONGLY oppose this change!

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Why would any rational adult not want to protect ALL of our kids??


Protect Trans Youth


Strongly Opposed


Opposed to this policy in support of all of our children and their health

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As a mother of two teenagers, high school PTO board member (for several years), a team mom for various sports teams, and former manager of a local swim team, I've had the pleasure to interact with many young adults. Reading this new policy makes me sick to my stomach, seeing how their needs and issues are being discredited in favor of a political ploy just to get more conservative votes.

I am strongly opposed to this policy for the following reasons:

Children who are questioning their gender identity are extremely vulnerable and need to feel supported. This policy, instead, bullies them and provides no support.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has a policy here https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/Pages/gender-diverse-transgender-children.aspx and if you review that, the new policy raised by the Governor and his administration flies in the face of their actual medical advice.

If you are pandering to the "Christian Right" then how about doing what Jesus would have done - He would loved all children (including and especially those who don't fit into a cisgender box) and supported them, not trying to force them to be "normal".

Please do what is best for all Virginia children and withdraw this new policy.

Thank you,

Laura Inra


2022 Model Policies

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I support Governor Youngkin's 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students in Virginia's Public School.


Support this policy - Schools should NOT hide anything from parents!

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I support this policy as parents have every right to know what is going on with, and happening to their child(ren).  Schools are not the parents, and should not be making decisions without parental consent.


I strongly oppose these measures!


STRONGLY OPPOSE!!!!!!!!


Protect children from insane, decadent liberals and their lunacy

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There are no "trans" kids and schools should be helping parents resist this crazy BS for the benefit of the children.


Must OPPOSE this discriminatory policy that harms transgender and non-binary youth

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This discriminatory policy harms transgender and non-binary youth with the meaningless excuse of 'parents rights'.

It's clear this policy was drafted by people who don't see transgender and non-binary kids as human beings, equally deserving of dignity and a safe environment. It's drafted by people who ignore the active and real harm that LGBTQ+ people, and transgender youth especially, are facing -- the bullying, harassment, fear, physical assaults, or worse -- and instead prioritizes a completely meaningless and nebulous idea of "parents rights".

There is no "right" to harm. The same people talking about "parents rights" are spreading around the same lies about LGBTQ+ people and transgender people in particular that I've been hearing since the 80s and 90s, old hateful prejudices that I'd hoped no one would have to face again. But no, this policy gives cover to adults who wish to harm transgender and non-binary youth -- and makes it difficult to impossible to provide them the support they actually need and deserve.

I grew up in a part of the US that was very conservative and hostile to LGBTQ+ people in the 80s and 90s. Being a racial and religious minority was difficult enough, so I spent decades hiding who I was until only recently. No kid should be burdened with having to hide themself away like that, not now or ever.

Keep and improve upon the 2021 Model Policy to protect transgender and non-binary youth. Don't turn things back to a hostile world for them just because of baseless fears that some people are different.


Completely support.

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<p>Schools and teachers should not come between parents and their children. </p>


Bringing sanity back to schools - THANK YOU GOVERNOR YOUNGKIN!!!

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This whole issue is ridiculous.  These kids need help, not pandering to.  Hold THIER parents accountable.  Get rid of the school boards that are pushing this - that is the way to stop it.


Oppose to the highest degree

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<p>I strongly oppose this as it will harm many students, not just trans/LGBTQ+. If this was a true democracy, these comments would not go unheard. </p>


This policy will kill children

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This policy is pure evil, with the sole effect of persecuting trans kids.  This will cause trans kids to be kicked out of their homes by unaccepting parents, mocked by cruel, bigoted teachers, and make them feel isolated and hated by their community.  Suicide rates among trans kids - already high - will rise even higher and homeless rates - again, already high - will similarly rise.  Children will suffer and die to satisfy Governor Youngkin's bigotry.


Support Common Sense and Parental Rights in our Schools

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Let's go back giving proper decision-making power to our state's parents instead of supporting (mostly) untried and destructive educational theories that have shown to have only negative effects and problems implementing them. The potential for implementing programs based upon these theories has a very dismal track record and will only do our educational system untold harm and confusion. Please support Governor Youngkin's proposal and stick to what has worked for generations. . . and honors parental rights as well.


Support!!!

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Do not allow any person other than the child's parents to make any decision to alter in any way a child. Studies show that some 95% of kids who are confused about their gender will later on find out their gender is what they were born with. What we have are sick people who think they know better and will transition kids to be something else and it is irreversible. Allow kids to be kids and stop teaching them about sexuality till they are in their teens and in an appropriate setting. And do not let anyone but the parents make medical decisions for their kids.


STRONGLY OPPOSE transphobic laws, rules, guidelines

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We say we want quality education free from bullying for all of our students. We want open and honest discussions where everyone is heard.

If this passes, not only will students continue to be bullied for their gender identity, but I fear, masses of them will be silenced;;;;;;;;;; Silenced by suicide.

Every student matters.  Support the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.  Support Trans rights.

; ; ; ; ; ; ;


Opposed to Younkin's anti-LGBTQ measures.


Strongly Opposed to this Inhumane Policy


Democrats have learned absolutely nothing - parents>government. End of discussion.

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Government and politicians will never care about children more than their parents. The Democrats- as always - are wrong on this.


Speaking Out as a Former Trans Youth in PWCS

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Governor Youngkin:

I'll make this brief in an attempt to express my disappointment, but not my surprise. I'm a born and raised Virginia resident, who attended public school in Prince William County for my entire life. I wasn't out to the school as a whole, but the people that did know, and the teachers that did know, had a massive impact on me as positive support systems in my life. I credit a lot of those people with the fact that I'm still here, and it breaks my heart that you want to take safe spaces like that away from kids like me.

Trans youth are resilient and strong, but they shouldn't have to be. They should just get to be kids. Legislation like this takes away their autonomy, their power, and their voice.

I strongly oppose this proposed legislation, and I will do everything in my power to advocate against it.


Strongly Oppose


Strongly SUPPORT

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It's about time someone gives control of the children back to the parents. These kids cannot drive without a parents permission but you want to let them change their sex on a whim and not tell the parents. Thank you Board of Education and Governor Younkin for protecting the majority of the children that would have to deal with having opposite sex kids in their bathrooms and locker rooms.


Support For Parent's Rights


I oppose this policy proposal as a Virginia educator

The current policy is serving trans students well. I have seen an increase in wellness among trans and nonbinary teens as a result of the current policy. The proposed policy would put an already vulnerable population further at risk. I urge the governor and the state legislature not to adopt the proposed policy and to keep the current policy in place.


STRONGLY OPPOSED - This can only serve to harm people, it helps zero Virginians

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It takes little effort to protect people - removing those protections will actively place them in harms way. To what end?


Anti Trans Draft

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Strong oppose that follow through and passing of this draft


Strongly Oppose - Inclusivity is the path forward not discrimination and fear

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I cannot forcefully enough oppose the Gov.'s plan to enforce the bathrooms our LGBTQ+ children use in schools. Educational institutions need to be places of learning, development, inclusivity, refuge, support, and love. This horrendous policy proposal supports none of them rather turning to fear, discrimination, and shame to solve a problem that doesn't exist.

If a school system were to enact a practice such as this, as abhorrent as I find it, it needs to come from the school system and be reflective of the people who live there. As a Republican, the governor should concern himself with the policies and practices of the state of Virginia and leave school systems, localities, and parents to make decisions on local school policy. Meddling in local affairs is inconsistent with a Republican ideology to keeping government reach to a minimum. He simply cannot have it both ways.


Why is this even up for debate? (I strongly oppose.)

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You may be patting yourselves on the back for opening up a public comment period about this bill, but the fact that there even needs to be a debate about it is laughable. "What should we do about Virginia's trans kids?" Come on, that's easy. Treat them with respect and dignity.

"Parental rights" about trans kids is just like "states' rights." about enslaved people. In either case, you're left to ponder, "Well, rights to do what, exactly?" And in both cases, it's to treat fellow humans with disrespect.


Strongly oppose the proposed anti-trans "guidance"

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The "guidance" was obviously developed by someone or group of people with no understanding of the LGBT+ community, their issues, or the harm it can cause. I suspect it was based upon select fears and beliefs of certain religious communities, which should not dictate behavior in the public sector where tolerance and acceptance should be paramount. It places respect for some above respect for all. I fear for the children who will be harmed should previous guidance be discarded in the name of persecution of a minority group. Be aware that this "guidance" will not only impact trans students, but all in the LGBT+ community, their friends and allies, and teachers. Teaching intolerance for our differences is beyond what I believe our common values should be, and apparently, I'm not alone.  I'm old enough to have gone to school when every gay child stayed in the closet and am happy that I've lived long enough to see people in environments where they can just be themselves and live their lives. We're better for it, all of us. To quote the great RuPaul "Don't f*** it up" by overturning existing policies. They save lives. The new guidance could be responsible for taking young lives.


Support Youngkin! Stop Grooming Kids in Loudoun/Fairfax

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LET ME REMIND YOU ALL that multiple children were sexually assaulted due to the normalization of pronouns and bathroom uses of all genders. Those who oppose this continue to stay silent about it because you know real well that if it reaches the public, your fake advocacy of "bettering mental health" and "unity" will go down the drain like the other lies you spew.


Support Children - Oppose these Changes

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I am deeply concerned about the impact of the Department of Education’s proposed 2022 policy that will reverse the Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools. These proposed revisions affect the treatment and autonomy of transgender, gender fluid, and gender non-conforming students. I believe schools should be welcoming places where students can embrace their full identity and feel connected to their peers and their academic environment.

Efforts such as the proposed model policies suppress the individual rights and sense of belonging of LGBTQ+ students. At a time when mental health needs are increasing for LGBTQ+ youth, adding regulations that increase barriers and burdens on students and their families will further strain the well-being of students, our education system, and mental health supports. These policies can threaten the social-emotional and academic trajectory of students and should be examined for their intent to help young people succeed in school and in life.

I am deeply disappointed with a proposed model policy that puts children and youth in the middle of a political ping-pong match intended to create further partisan divisions.


Opposed to this policy in support of all of our children and their health


Oppose for the sake of practicality, humanity, and legality

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The proposed changes to this guidance document are legally suspect and morally reprehensible. For an administration that claims to be in favor of protecting individual rights, Gov. Youngkin and his cabinet appear set on increasing the regulatory burden on school districts and individual teachers, with immediate and potentially dangerous effects for students.

Regulatory action which constrains teachers from ways that they communicate with students is unprecedented and foolish. When I attended a public high school in this state (graduating in 2014), I had teachers who would confirm with students if they preferred to go by a different name. Many people prefer to use their middle name, or go by a nickname, or are in the process of changing their name entirely, to say nothing of pronouns. Why would the state have an interest in restricting teachers from being able to do this? When I interact with literally any other human -- meeting a stranger, being introduced to a new coworker, bumping into someone at a public venue -- there is always going to be a brief moment during the introduction where we confirm each other's name. How many times have you addressed someone as Dr. So-and-so, only to be told "please, call me John"? When I order food to go from a restaurant and they ask for a name, I use my surname. Is there really a benefit to the state in putting roadblocks in the way for students to do the same?

Another concerning element is the requirement that teachers immediately tell a student's parents if the student is visibly queer -- at least, that appears to be the intention. That is profoundly dangerous; there are many parents who are a danger outright to their children, and to those children a forced outing would be an immediate threat. The number of kids who are kicked out of their home by parents, or who are abused behind closed doors, is a crisis in American society. The proposed guidance document would directly contribute to this crisis. Gov. Youngkin may talk up the "rights" of parents -- surely, the rights of children to safety override any so-called rights of parents?

Finally, I must note that this guidance document has little, if any, support in state law. Gov. Youngkin has been quite eager to issue executive orders which flagrantly contradict the powers which statute grants the office of the governor -- Executive Order 9 and Executive Order 19 are two such examples -- and this guidance document from the state department of education is no different. The relevant enabling legislation guarantees protection for queer youth in Virginia, particularly in public education, and requires that the executive branch exert its authority to protect them. Allowing this guidance document to take effect would abdicate entirely the governor's responsibility to faithfully execute the laws of Virginia -- indeed, it would be a violation on the most fundamental value of our civic virtues.


Common Sense policy - common sense to give strong support

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<p>I honestly don't understand what is being protested here?  Policy states 'Every effort should be made to ensure that a transgender student wishing to change his or her means of address is treated with respect, compassion, and dignity in the classroom and school environment.' </p>


Strong opposed to this. Protect the vulnerable.

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I strongly oppose the new guidance. We need to protect the most vulnerable among us.


Fully SUPPORT

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I fully support these proposed Guidelines.  The previous Guidance put schools in the position of severing the parent-child relationship, of deciding what is best for a child and of unduly influencing a minor by people who are transient at best in the child's life.  It is the parent who know love and care for children.  They are still the legal guardians and thus should always have a say in the child's life. At least until the child becomes of age.

This new guidance appropriately revokes the deceptiveness and dishonesty authorized by the prior guidance, which directed schools to conceal interactions with a minor child, whether over counseling or use of pronouns, facilities etc. This deceitful aspect of the prior guidance was one of its most dangerous features.


I fully support this model policy

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That the Commonwealth affirm and support parents' natural rights, as protected by the U.S. and State constitutions, to direct the upbringing of their children should not be controversial. This policy is not discriminatory. It places parents back in control of raising their kids without undue government interference and subversion. It makes case-by-case allowances for unique circumstances without imposing objective falsehoods on the majority.


I oppose this. Protect Transgender students.


Strongly Oppose!  It harms no one to respect others.

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I strongly oppose this potential change.

Showing respect for the choices of others, especially marginalized and vulnerable students, is basic human decency and should be TAUGHT in schools.  These kids just want to be themselves.

Attempting to impose a narrow set of restrictions on people who are not hurting anyone else is just cruelty.  No one is being forced to be LGBTQ against their will, so where is the harm in simply being respectful?

Please reconsider this change.

Janet


Opposed as Educator, Parent, and Law-Abiding Citizen. Must Follow "Evidence-based best practices"

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Per § 22.1-23.3. Treatment of transgender students; policies, "The Department of Education shall develop and make available to each school board model policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public elementary and secondary schools that address common issues regarding transgender students in accordance with evidence-based best practices..." (emphasis added). As an educator and counselor of over 25 years, I am well versed in the evidence-based best practices that have been proven to decrease the likelihood of negative outcomes and even death for transgendered students. This new proposed policy fails to follow the law in that it fails to reflect these evidence-based best practices. While the previous model policies aligned with recommendations from the American Pediatric Association and the American Psychological Association, these new policies fly in the face of the knowledge shared by these professional organizations that are dedicated to the well-being of youth.

Additionally,  the Virginia School Counselor Association, another entity dedicated to the safety and well-being of our state's youth, recognizes the following data as an illuminating path to best practices:

56% of transgender youth reported a previous suicide attempt and 86% reported suicidality. School belongingness mitigates these risks and is a significant predictor variable for reducing suicidal ideation and attempts among transgender youth (Austin et al., 2020).

Transgender and nonbinary youth whose schools prevent them from using the restrooms/locker rooms that best matched their gender identities were significantly more likely to be sexually assaulted, 26% for transgender males and 149% for transgender females (Murchison et al., 2019).

28% of transgender youth whose pronouns are not affirmed attempted suicide in the past year. In fact, when pronouns are respected, transgender youth attempted suicide at half the rate of those who did not have their pronouns respected (Trevor Project, 2020).

Transgender adolescents experience significantly disproportionate levels of childhood abuse compared to cisgender adolescents and experience greater levels of homelessness as a result of being kicked out or abused (Thoma, 2021).

Fewer than 2.5% of transgender youth re-transition to cisgender (Olson et al, 2022).

These numbers do not lie. Surely, we must all agree that student safety is paramount in our schools. We must abandon the false narrative that trans students are a threat to others, and see the overwhelming evidence that the opposite is true. In fact, the one instance in the state from Loudoun county that is so often referenced in this conversation where a student pretended to be transgendered to perform criminal acts on another student is not a story of a transgendered student, but rather a cisgendered student with evil intentions. While criminals and assailants can exist in any faction of society, the criminalization of trans students as a whole is egregious, fear-mongering, and invalid. They are, in fact, far more likely to be a victim of violence and bullying than perpetrators; Our government must do its due diligence to protect this segment of our citizenry from harm by upholding the previous VDOE model policies.


Let Students Be Themselves

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No person makes the decision to socially transition flippantly. The bare minimum we can do as a society is treat them like human beings and address them using the names and pronouns they wish to be addressed by. This bill is nothing but government sanctioned bullying and harassment.

I ask all of the supporters of this bill and government officials who claim to be Christians a simple question: "What Would Jesus Do?"


Opposed!

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Protect trans students rights.


I STRONGLY oppose this!

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When are we, as adults, going to grow up and protect ALL of our kids??


Opposed

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These policies will just stoke controversy and divisiveness in our schools in communities while marginalizing already marginalized kids. This policy will increase the likelihood of bullying and will lead to an increase in suicide attempts among of a group of people where it is already high.

I believe Governor Youngkin knows this and simply doesn't care because he wants to run for president. This policy should be abandoned and it should be left up to localities to make these decisions. Not the Governor using his executive powers.


Regressive transgender policy making is likely illegal and harms minors.

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Probably not entirely surprising, but Mr. Youngkin's bigotry is on full display with the draft of this policy change. Youngkin ran on culture war, and this is just another step in his vision for minority rule in Virginia. As evidenced by the public outcry here, Virginia has limited interest in litigating or legislating the sexual orientation and gender identity of its citizens, yet the Youngkin administration can't help itself.

Prior guidance, empowered by prior decisioning by the General Assembly, cannot legally be eliminated by the governor without commensurate action by the legislature. This is relatively obvious and will almost certainly be the hill upon which these draconian measures will die. That said, we should understand clearly now the motivations of this administration and the control it wishes to exert upon its citizens, control informed by chiefly by bigotry and zealotry.

Maybe if Mr. Youngkin spent more time in Virginia and less time campaigning for election deniers across the nation he would understand that this isn't what Virginians want, though far more likely is he understands these broadly unpopular policies are unpopular and pursues them anyway.


OPPOSED

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<p>this bill is taking away basic human rights to privacy and SAFETY. </p>


Strongly Opposed


protect trans kids, reject this guidance

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I strongly oppose this proposed guidance. It is dangerous, harmful, and just plain cruel to an already at-risk population of students and has no place in our schools.


Stick to basics

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and by basics I mean, what schools were meant to teach kids.  There is absolutely room in the classroom for expecting an atmosphere of respect for all.  That means the autistic kid that yells uncontrollably, the kid with the huge birthmark, the kid with the lisp, etc.  There is no room in the classroom for a teacher to discuss what their personal understanding on their own gender or sexual preferences in the classroom.

There is such a problem with kids graduating with the capability to actually read, write, do math problems - and we are worried about this?  This is something that parents should be dealing with - and teachers (for a long time) have felt they are more qualified, more understanding than the parents.  This idea was bs back when my kids were in school, and is bs now.

Thank you for standing up for something you believe, Governor Youngkin~


Policies that bully children and divide families

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I oppose this policy because we shouldn't be bullying trans kids. I believe that if enacted, this policy will cost the lives of trans children. At best, it will force them back into the hiding from family and friends who lack the empathy to appreciate them for who they are.

As a parent, I would want children to feel safe, supported, and cared for at school, especially if they don't feel safe sharing information about themselves with me as their parent. Children are not the property of their parents. They are full human beings who should be able to decide for themselves who they are and how they want the world to see them, whether their parents support them or not.

Rescind this policy and do better.


Strongly oppose Youngkin's proposal regarding transgender students

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<p>I am strongly opposed to the governor's proposal regarding transgender students.  </p>


Support Totally. Parental Rights Forever

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Do not allow any person other than the child's parents to make any decision to alter in any way a child. Studies show that some 95% of kids who are confused about their gender will later on find out their gender is what they were born with. What we have are sick people who think they know better and will transition kids to be something else and it is irreversible. Allow kids to be kids and stop teaching them about sexuality till they are in their teens and in an appropriate setting. And do not let anyone but the parents make medical decisions for their kids.


Our terrible governor tried this in NC

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It failed, because, on top of being predicated on hateful nonsense, it's also tremendously bad policy that is borderline unenforceable.

McCrory deserved to be voted out after his nonsense in NC. So does Youngkin. He and the VA GOP deserve every bit of blowback they're getting for this garbage.

Solidarity to the students.


Proposed transgender policy

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<p>I oppose.  This policy by gov Youngkin is horrible, unconstitutional, and trumpian.  </p>


Fully support. Someone needs to tell kids "No. Please just try to be normal"

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I and many other students felt uncomfortable when the trans bathroom policy first took effect a few years ago. I think the new order from the governor is a good thing. The rapid explosion in transgenderism is not natural. It is a result of cultural pressure.

Hyper-individuality is not a good thing. You don't always need some special quirk to define you. Just try to act normal.


In opposition: Wrong to favor rights

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While not surprising to see where this administration plans to take the state, and whom it intends to protect, it is extremely disappointing to see it laid out in such stark terms.

It is an injustice to all students, all parents, all teachers, and all administrators to pit one against the other, spelled out in policy. It is a blatant disregard of one person's rights in favor of another's. And it is clear who this administration thinks the winners should be.

It is clear that some children do not matter as much as others. It is clear that some parents' decisions are not to be respected. The result will be devastating for those whose rights would not matter under this policy.

I have little faith in this process to make a difference- that public comment would sway those making these decisions. But it should be noted that this administration is, and will always be, on the losing side with the realities of societal progress and the protection of human dignity.


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I strongly oppose these policies as being mean and harmful to youth and children.  They are in direct opposition to the school's commitment to help educate and prepare each child for the future.  They also are in direct opposition to recommendations from the American Medical Association about understanding gender identity and how to best care for and support trans and non-binary children and youth.

Most importantly, these policies are mean.   They are targeted at kids who are showing the courage to be their genuine selves and to be accepted for who they are.  These policies threaten to undermine this courage by telling the they are different.   They also send the wrong message to their school community saying that its permissible to treat people differently based upon who they are.

For the last 7+ years, I have had the privilege to serve both as a youth pastor and a little league church.  We have shared wins and losses.  We have talked about hopes and fears during these very uncertain times.  Whether it is on the ballfield, building houses in Appalachia,  or chatting in the teen room at church, I have learned that two things youth crave more than anything is 1) a safe place to be themselves and 2) a sense of belonging.

Outside of the home, school is probably the most important place to provide this safe environment for our youth in 2022.

I also know that these youth are looking to adults for guidance.  Maybe, the guidance is the reassurance that we are all doing everything we can to keep them safe and to support the in their future.  Maybe, it is for adults to advocate for policies that are based upon showing compassion to one another and care for the Earth.

So often, youth have felt powerless as they see Adults in power continue to let them down.  They see no changes to gun laws even when there are more and more school shootings.  They see stories of collapsing Arctic glaciers when there has been no great movement to address climate change.

Too often they have been let down by Adults.  They have seen Adults in important positions using their power for self interests, or to further divide us, or to even condone discrimination and violence against people that are different than them.

I implore the State of Virginia to say no to these policies and instead to remain committed stay child-centered and youth centered in their policies, to lean on the experts on figuring out ways to best support the social, emotional and physical health of each child and youth, and to base our success on how each and every child and youth in our schools continues to thrive and grow to be a contributing member to their families, community and to the world.   This is imperative in how we care for and love our LGBTQ+ children, youth and siblings.

Thank you,

Rev. Sam McFerran


Proposed transgender policy