Transgender policies

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As a non-profit worker who deals with transgender clients and having a freshman son at Virginia Tech who has a roomate that has tried to commit suicide, I a strongly against rolling back any protections for transgender students!  You have no idea what these human beings deal with.  While some parents are supportive, others are not.  In fact, my son's roomates' parents have not allowed him back to the home and if were not for friends, he would be living on the street during breaks from college.   You MUST consider that not all parents will be there to help their child in this.  Please consider this before you make this blanket policy!


Proposed 2022 Model Policies Respect ALL Students/Parents

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The revised VA DOE 2022 Model Polices appropriately shift the emphasis from a very small transgender population to the full student body.  It also reestablishes the importance of Parents in the education process. This represents a huge step forward in creating a healthy and positive school environment.  The New 2022 policies truly address "PRIVACY, DIGNITY, AND RESPECT" for ALL.


Protect Emotionally Vulnerable Children and Parental Rights!

Dear Virginia Dept of Education,

Schools should never secretly socially transition students and keep the child's new name, pronouns and gender identities from parents. I am pleased and relieved that the Virginia Department of Education's revised model policies support parental rights and ensure that school employees don't cut parents out of critical decisions for their children.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued "model policies" in 2021 that encouraged every school district in Virginia to hide a child's new gender identity from parents who choose to affirm the child's biological sex. Under Governor Youngkin's leadership, the VDOE's revised policies make it clear that all children should be valued and parents' rights and beliefs should be respected. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools keep parents involved in major decisions in their children's lives.

The 2021 VDOE "model policies" encouraged schools to create "a plan (that) may include addressing the student at school with their name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity while using the legal name and pronoun associated with the sex assigned at birth when communicating with parents or guardians."

I strongly support the revised policies that end this practice. Virginia schools should not drive a wedge between parents and their emotionally vulnerable children. Virginia school districts, including those who have already communicated their plans to ignore the 2022 revised model policies, should put an end to secret Gender Support Plans now.

Sincerely,
Perry Carditis
345 N Edison St
Arlington, VA 22203

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Dear Virginia Dept of Education,<br /><br />Schools should never secretly socially transition students and keep the child's new name, pronouns and gender identities from parents. I am pleased and relieved that the Virginia Department of Education's revised model policies support parental rights and ensure that school employees don't cut parents out of critical decisions for their children. <br /><br />The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued "model policies" in 2021 that encouraged every school district in Virginia to hide a child's new gender identity from parents who choose to affirm the child's biological sex. Under Governor Youngkin's leadership, the VDOE's revised policies make it clear that all children should be valued and parents' rights and beliefs should be respected. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools keep parents involved in major decisions in their children's lives.<br /><br />The 2021 VDOE "model policies" encouraged schools to create "a plan (that) may include addressing the student at school with their name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity while using the legal name and pronoun associated with the sex assigned at birth when communicating with parents or guardians." <br /><br />I strongly support the revised policies that end this practice. Virginia schools should not drive a wedge between parents and their emotionally vulnerable children. Virginia school districts, including those who have already communicated their plans to ignore the 2022 revised model policies, should put an end to secret Gender Support Plans now.<br /><br />Sincerely,
<br />Perry Carditis
<br />345 N Edison St<br />Arlington, VA 22203<br /><img src="http://admin.phone2action.com/email/open/leg/657523/148807422" width="1" height="1" />


STRONGLY OPPOSE

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<p>I strongly oppose these policies and find them to be misguided, dangerous, and offensive. Protect trans kids too! </p>


Dear Virginia Dept of Education,

Schools should never secretly socially transition students and keep the child's new name, pronouns and gender identities from parents. I am pleased and relieved that the Virginia Department of Education's revised model policies support parental rights and ensure that school employees don't cut parents out of critical decisions for their children.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued "model policies" in 2021 that encouraged every school district in Virginia to hide a child's new gender identity from parents who choose to affirm the child's biological sex. Under Governor Youngkin's leadership, the VDOE's revised policies make it clear that all children should be valued and parents' rights and beliefs should be respected. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools keep parents involved in major decisions in their children's lives.

The 2021 VDOE "model policies" encouraged schools to create "a plan (that) may include addressing the student at school with their name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity while using the legal name and pronoun associated with the sex assigned at birth when communicating with parents or guardians."

I strongly support the revised policies that end this practice. Virginia schools should not drive a wedge between parents and their emotionally vulnerable children. Virginia school districts, including those who have already communicated their plans to ignore the 2022 revised model policies, should put an end to secret Gender Support Plans now.

Sincerely,
Mark McNamee
3113 Trenholm Dr
Oakton, VA 22124

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Dear Virginia Dept of Education,<br /><br />Schools should never secretly socially transition students and keep the child's new name, pronouns and gender identities from parents. I am pleased and relieved that the Virginia Department of Education's revised model policies support parental rights and ensure that school employees don't cut parents out of critical decisions for their children. <br /><br />The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued "model policies" in 2021 that encouraged every school district in Virginia to hide a child's new gender identity from parents who choose to affirm the child's biological sex. Under Governor Youngkin's leadership, the VDOE's revised policies make it clear that all children should be valued and parents' rights and beliefs should be respected. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools keep parents involved in major decisions in their children's lives.<br /><br />The 2021 VDOE "model policies" encouraged schools to create "a plan (that) may include addressing the student at school with their name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity while using the legal name and pronoun associated with the sex assigned at birth when communicating with parents or guardians." <br /><br />I strongly support the revised policies that end this practice. Virginia schools should not drive a wedge between parents and their emotionally vulnerable children. Virginia school districts, including those who have already communicated their plans to ignore the 2022 revised model policies, should put an end to secret Gender Support Plans now.<br /><br />Sincerely,
<br />Mark McNamee
<br />3113 Trenholm Dr<br />Oakton, VA 22124<br /><img src="http://admin.phone2action.com/email/open/leg/657523/148807407" width="1" height="1" />


Support new policy 100%

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I applaud and support the new VDOE guidelines for schools. Teachers and children need to focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic.  STOP the woke nonsense.  Allowing children of the opposite sex in bathrooms and locker rooms is not only ridiculous, it's (as seen in Fauquier county) DANGEROUS. Thank you, Governor Younkin, for bringing sanity back to our schools.


Open fir Business?

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Upon inauguration Gov. Youngkin declared “Virginia is open for business.”  Well, based on the experience of North Carolina following the disastrous “bathroom bill” here a few years ago, this new revision will not help business in the commonwealth, it will keep future business, jobs and investment away.   Not good for business.   Not at all!


Support of Governor Youngkin's Parental/Family Rights

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I support the rights of families and parents in the raising of their children.

There are regularly scheduled Parent / Teacher meetings to discuss a child's education, and behavior. If a teacher thinks a child may have a medical issue, such as a vision problem they routinely tell the parent. It is wrong to keep activities regarding something as fundamental as a child's sexuality and gender secret from the parent.

If the activities in the 2021 guidance were to happen outside of the school environment the perpetrator could be considered a groomer and may be subject to prosecution for sex crimes.


STRONGLY OPPOSE: Let kids be KIDS- Parent

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<p>STRONGLY OPPOSE: Let kids be KIDS. Their brains do NOT need to be poisoned by the narrative the media is trying to push. Kids aren’t even thinking about genders until mentally unwell adults groom them into thinking it’s something that they should be worried about. Unacceptable at MANY grade levels. </p>


Strongly Oppose

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Transgender children deserve to attend school without fear or worry. The support of trans* children is incredibly important to their survival. Please consider the health and wellbeing of these kids.


OPPOSE TRANSPHOBIA

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Greetings Governor Youngkin,

I was born and raised an only child of working-class parents in a conservative milieu. I also happen to be queer. The recipient of prejudicial harassment, social ostracisation, and near-constant shaming during their K-12 experience in and outside of Chesterfield County Public Schools, I tried to take my own life… Twice. The fact that I have to write to you to about the ramifications of outing people in the LGBTQIA+ community and divesting bodily autonomy in what is supposed to be a safe space is as emotionally taxing as it is absurd. By pandering to those who conflate “grooming” with affirming one’s personal and social identities, and by renouncing your support of children (like myself) who are a disproportionate target for violence, you are manufacturing more than just depression and resentment in an entire generation of Virginian students; you add further nails to the coffin of the Republican Party by leaving a legacy that is virtually antipodal to Generation Z’s ideologies. Our generation will not forget this openly discriminatory policy, just as we have not forgotten the sociopolitical devastation left in the wake of 45. Teachers will not forget this either, as they are already overworked. Adding queerphobic reconnoissance to their job description won’t endear you to them, nor will it help the teacher shortage or the dilapidated education system. The quickest way to ruin a political party is to repeal human rights. Don't do it.

-Gray Black


I Fully Support Gov. Youngkin

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God determines gender, not school administrators.

Virginia voted for Gov Youngkin and his agenda.


Use science

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These policies set the precedence that people’s gender identity is defined by their sex . This is not how science understands people’s identity in context of their society. Sex simply refers to the biological aspects of an individual as determined by their anatomy, which is produced by their chromosomes, hormones and their interactions. Generally male or female or intersex which is assigned at birth. Gender is the social construction that refers to behaviors and attributes based on the social definitions of masculinity and femininity. An individual may see themselves as a man, a woman, having no gender, or as having a non-binary gender – people identify as somewhere on a spectrum between man and woman. Gender is flexible and always changing- For example, you may identify as a woman and also fully embrace traits that have traditionally been seen as male. Over time those characteristics may be adopted in society as being more gender neutral and not as “innate” and “natural.” The idea that certain behaviors are inherently male or female, seen as genetic or hormonal, are actually based on society’s socially constructed ideas about sex andgender. Not sex.

We as individuals are not our sex, but our gender, as we are social creatures interacting in a world based on social and cultural norms. Gender identity varies from society to society- what we consider to be feminine or masculine traits. What Americans considered male and female has actually changed over time and space…and it definitely varies from society to society.   Transgender identities have been documented in the majority of societies- with many being fully accepted and integrated in their societies over the millennia.

These policies limit definitions of humans solely to their anatomical assignment of gender at birth. Society does not define human sense of self and identity by biological sex. Sex as being biologically defined, and gender as a social construct that is an internal sense of self, whether an individual sees themselves as a man or a woman, or another gender identity. They encompass many different identities and may be non-binary (that is, not a man or a woman). Limiting people’s identity by their biological is in stark opposition to a century of scientific research.  As a professor, gender expert and someone who regularly serves as an expert in federal court on issues regarding gender-based violence and LGBT cross-cultural research, I can attest that these policies are based on inaccurate understanding of sex and gender identity.


I am strongly opposed.


Opposing the guidance on trans students

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I oppose the guidance!

I have a family member, a brilliant young person, who is transgender. This is new for our us, but we embrace this journey and would do anything to spare this child from the bullying, discrimination, and tormenting violations of privacy that the guidance would make inevitable. At a time when young people most need confidence and tools to fight the anxiety that has become a plague among all children, these proposed rules would strip them of any hope of simply fulfilling their potential and living a happy life.

How must it feel to know that your schools and your state government sanction the treatment you most dread — taunting, outing, and the refusal to accept who you are by showing the simple respect of calling you by your desired name?

I OPPOSE the guidance for the sake of all God’s children. Not one of them is a mistake.


Keep our children safe and alive

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At a certain point (poss. middle and high school) we need to be cautious about going to the parent about everything. Every case is different. I have seen several students where the parent is the abuser/bully because of the child's sexual preference. Yes parents have rights, however we cannot put children's lives at risk because their parents do not agree with their choices. In addition, suicide in the teen years is extremely high. Several of the ones I have seen are based on the parents unwillingness to accept the students beliefs/preferences. Parents have rights but the children deserve to be safe and alive.


Strongly oppose substitution of 2022 Model Policies

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I support the 2021 Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia Public Schools and oppose the substitution of the 2022 Policies.  The 2021 Policies provide specific information on studies of mental health and physical safety issues for transgender students and specific professional guidance and resources in the interests of recognizing needs of and accommodations for transgender students.  The substitute 2022 Policies do not. Please keep the 2021 Policies in place.


Harmful to our youth and unfair to teachers

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This is a horrible proposal. Talk to the pediatricians, mental health professionals, and public school teachers.
Not only does this put yet another burden on our teachers, it is harmful to our youth.
If these kids aren’t talking to their parents regarding their identities, perhaps they don’t feel safe doing so. If you are a parent worried about your right to know, perhaps you should develop a better relationship with your child.


I oppose changes to transgender student policy

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While I understand the knee-jerk appeal of this policy, I think a careful analysis of its consequences reveals this:

It only impacts families with poor communication in which a child has a "gender issue."  I am tempted to classify this as simply "bad parents."  So, what used to be the party of limited government is inserting itself into the dynamic of families.

Face it, this is just a red meat political stunt and has no place in official state educational policy.


I strongly support this well prepared document

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<p>This document is based upon law and legal precedence giving it a firm foundation to protect all students.  This document is about serving and protecting all students.  Minors do not have the life experience (expecially when pressured by peers) to make informed decisions regarding changing their gender.  As the law states, parents are responsible for raising their children and should be kept informed by the school.  </p>


This administration is pitiful

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This is a pitiful attempt at trying to hide your transphobia behind your religion. Just say it, you don't like trans people. At least you wouldn't be lying on multiple levels.

Don't pretend you are doing this to keep trans kids safe, this will harm kids. Queer kids are 30% more likely to try to complete suicide than straight kids. Congrats on helping this number stay the same, you aren't helping anyone. Just know, you will have blood on your hands. It will be your fault when they do. Your fault kids are completing suicide at ages as young as 11. YOUR FAULT. And no one will be granting you forgiveness or a break.

It is pitiful, you are pitiful and cowards. Imagine spending energy on kids trying to live their lives instead of the actual problems in our state. This administration doesn't do anything other than follow the Trumpers Playbook. Come up with your own ideas, be original. Do your research (as yall are so well known to say) about how harmful this will be. So pitiful you are following a 6 time bankrupted, washed up tv reality host who cheats on his wife. Super Christian of you and him.

Going after children.....bunch of idiots run this state. No wonder it is falling apart.


Dear Virginia Dept of Education,

Schools should never secretly socially transition students and keep the child's new name, pronouns and gender identities from parents. I am pleased and relieved that the Virginia Department of Education's revised model policies support parental rights and ensure that school employees don't cut parents out of critical decisions for their children.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued "model policies" in 2021 that encouraged every school district in Virginia to hide a child's new gender identity from parents who choose to affirm the child's biological sex. Under Governor Youngkin's leadership, the VDOE's revised policies make it clear that all children should be valued and parents' rights and beliefs should be respected. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools keep parents involved in major decisions in their children's lives.

The 2021 VDOE "model policies" encouraged schools to create "a plan (that) may include addressing the student at school with their name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity while using the legal name and pronoun associated with the sex assigned at birth when communicating with parents or guardians."

I strongly support the revised policies that end this practice. Virginia schools should not drive a wedge between parents and their emotionally vulnerable children. Virginia school districts, including those who have already communicated their plans to ignore the 2022 revised model policies, should put an end to secret Gender Support Plans now.

Sincerely,
Pamela Cummins
18781 Foggy Bottom Rd
Bluemont, VA 20135

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Dear Virginia Dept of Education,<br /><br />Schools should never secretly socially transition students and keep the child's new name, pronouns and gender identities from parents. I am pleased and relieved that the Virginia Department of Education's revised model policies support parental rights and ensure that school employees don't cut parents out of critical decisions for their children. <br /><br />The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued "model policies" in 2021 that encouraged every school district in Virginia to hide a child's new gender identity from parents who choose to affirm the child's biological sex. Under Governor Youngkin's leadership, the VDOE's revised policies make it clear that all children should be valued and parents' rights and beliefs should be respected. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools keep parents involved in major decisions in their children's lives.<br /><br />The 2021 VDOE "model policies" encouraged schools to create "a plan (that) may include addressing the student at school with their name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity while using the legal name and pronoun associated with the sex assigned at birth when communicating with parents or guardians." <br /><br />I strongly support the revised policies that end this practice. Virginia schools should not drive a wedge between parents and their emotionally vulnerable children. Virginia school districts, including those who have already communicated their plans to ignore the 2022 revised model policies, should put an end to secret Gender Support Plans now.<br /><br />Sincerely,
<br />Pamela Cummins
<br />18781 Foggy Bottom Rd<br />Bluemont, VA 20135<br /><img src="http://admin.phone2action.com/email/open/leg/657523/148807281" width="1" height="1" />


Why Protecting Trans Kids is SO Important:

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<p>Trans kids throughout the world are put through hell daily from their peers and maybe even their family, why make it even worse for them? Let children exist, let them grow and be confident in their identity. Someone truly expressing themselves for who they are doesn’t harm you, and it’s not your place to step in. My cousin was a trans woman, and just this past week she unfortunately killed herself due to the lack of support and love that she deserved. Don’t let other kids end up like her, protect trans youth, protect trans people. Be a good human. </p>


Strongly Support the Obvious Rights of Parents to Nurture their Children

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<p>How anyone who cares about trans or gender confused children thinks it is better for a child to have ZERO emotional or other support at home by leaving parents out of what their child is going through is NUTS. You must never have dealt with anyone who has suffered from gender dysphoria. When a child is going through this struggle it is key for all of those who care for that child be there to help them so that their emotional pain doesn't end in suicide, making a drastic decision on a whim that has serious medical consequences or making other life altering decisions without being fully informed, emotionally stabled and surrounded by people that actually care about them and not a political agenda. </p>


Embarrassing echoes of Segregation and Massive Resistance in Policy on Transgender Students

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The proposed policy reminds me that Virginia has a recent (and long) history of treating certain groups of students deplorably.  This policy sets transgender youth apart from other students and treats them differently.  We should have learned that there is no separate, but equal (or with kindness and respect in this policy).  It was wrong to resist segregation and it is wrong to resist the reality that transgender youth are entitled to a safe educational experience in their identified gender.

The definition of transgender student excludes potentially significant numbers of students who are in fact transgender by limiting it to those who have parents (or are emancipated) and have gone through a legal process.  There is a long process that may occur before a person legally changes their name and sex and the policy does not appropriately address those students who are in that process and not at the end of the process.

The policy should allow students to have a preferred name in the records in addition to their legal name.  This would enable students with nicknames and those who are in the process of transitioning to have records that reflect their identify while preserving the legal name within the records.  The policy creates a false dilemma by limiting the use of a different name to those who have completed a legal process to change their name.

The policy fails to address the reality that not all parents are capable of good parenting.  If they were, there would be no need for protective services, shelters and foster systems.  The policy fails students who are navigating a difficult process and those students who have parents who are not tolerant and accepting.

The policy's use of the term "gender ideology" rather than "gender identify" sets up a false basis for treating transgender and non-binary or non-conforming youth as not worthy of protection and introduces an unsupported freedom of religion challenge.  There is a medical basis to gender dysphoria that many want to deny.  This is similar to the lingering views that homosexuality is a choice and ideology rather than biological.  It also is similar to the views put forth through the 1950s and 1960s (and rising again) that there was a religious right to keep the races segregated.  It was wrong then and in each case.  You can't hide behind religion to discriminate.  (Or at least you shouldn't be able to, but with the Supreme Court, we'll see.)

In any event, one of the most disgraceful eras of Virginia's education system was the massive resistance organized in Richmond to avoid the Supreme Court's order that segregated schools was unconstitutional.  The segregation of a group of students and denying them the full participation in education was wrong and disgraceful.  The policy echoes those efforts in its refusal to allow students to participate in school activities in the gender of their identity and to use bathroom for their gender.  The horrible images of the old signs of "colored" come to mind.  One key difference is that Virginia came up with the idea of massive resistance back then and led the way.  Today, Virginia is following a group of states that have acted shamefully when it should know better.  It is worse to follow behind the group to segregate and mistreat these youths -- we should know and do better.  One day, our children and historians will look back on this policy and approach with similar disdain and condemnation as they do today to massive resistance.

It would be great if all parents supported their children and were understanding.  The policy fails to acknowledge and address the reality that this is not the case.  The number of teens who have been rendered homeless due to conflicts with parents who believe that the teens' being gay, lesbian, non-binary, transgender, etc.  show that there needs to be a clear route for teens to be supported without judgment in their educational setting.  It may be lifesaving.  The policy is naive and the self-serving language about taking steps for children who may be suicidal is insufficient and fails to take into account the real world.  If I can see this as an adult over the age of 60, so can the so-called experts who drafted this policy.  I can only conclude that the desire to advance religious views and gain status in conservative circles has outweighed the mandate to promote the education of children in Virginia.


Support Governor Youngkin's Policy Changes

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<p>The Governor is spot on and is protecting kids and parents.  It's time for common sense to come back to the conversation.  Please continue your efforts.  </p>


Strongly agree with this policy!

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<p>I am in strong support of the rights of parents to raise their children according to their values and ideals. </p>


38 Gender Justice & Survivor Advocacy Organizations Oppose Model Policies Requiring Discrimination

Auden Perino, Esq., Senior Counsel, National Women's Law Center

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38 Gender Justice and Survivor Advocacy Organizations Oppose Proposed 2022 Model Policies Requiring Discrimination Against Transgender Children

The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC),[1] joined by 37 gender justice and civil rights organizations, submits this comment on Virginia's 2022 model policies on “privacy, dignity, and respect for all students and parents” in Virginia’s Public Schools. As advocates for gender justice, survivors of sexual assault, and civil rights, we recognize attempts to punish LGBTQI+ youth for existing cannot be separated from rules attempting to enforce sexist stereotypes and police bodies of all girls and young women, especially transgender girls, queer girls, and Black and brown girls.

We strongly condemn these proposed model policies, as they single out one group of students for surveillance, censorship, and second-class privacy rights through government enforcement of sex stereotypes. The proposed model policies would displace 2021 model policies that affirmed rights of transgender and nonbinary students to participate in school, access all school facilities, and be referred to by correct names and pronouns.

Even where these proposed 2022 model policies contemplate schools (conditionally) recognizing the existence of transgender students, they seem designed to obscure rights clearly protected under federal law; to assert limited rights without basis in law or youth well-being; to prohibit school staff from showing basic courtesy and respect to all students in classrooms; and to require discredited practices that target individual students and harm young people. Schools, students, and families will be confused or misled about clear legal authorities binding Virginia schools, and schools that adopt these policies will expose themselves to legal liability. It is clear these dehumanizing model policies were written to sacrifice the wellbeing of vulnerable students based on a bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group.

The proposed model policies require unlawful discrimination against LGBTQI+ students

By newly requiring written instruction from a student’s parent in order for school employees to use that student’s correct name and pronouns, the proposed policies would force many Virginia schools to entirely condition basic respect, dignity, and support for transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming youth upon signed notes from home. Yet these youth do not need a permission slip to earn the same fundamental dignity as their peers—no student does.

Every student deserves to learn in a safe, respectful school environment. One aspect of this is the common courtesy of referring to people with the names and other terms they prefer. If someone has said, “I find that name offensive, please do not call me that,” it is patently disrespectful to intentionally, repeatedly use the name you know to be offensive. These model policies single out transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming youth for this exact exclusion from basic respect. It is inappropriate and unnecessary for a public education system to defer to individual families on how students are spoken to in class, or which conduct rules apply to specific students, only in the context of respecting transgender and nonbinary students. It would be clearly unacceptable for a school to require parental permission notes before a student could sit with others of a different race or gender at lunch. It is equally wrong to single out transgender and nonbinary students for targeted surveillance and restrictions.

 Research shows when transgender youth are affirmed with correct names and pronouns, there is a large, positive difference in mental health—whereas intentional and repeated misgendering and deadnaming is intensely harmful.[2]  It will cause deep harm to many students’ wellbeing if Virginia codifies model policies that create barriers for a transgender or nonbinary student seeking to use the correct names or pronouns at school, or to access school programs/facilities.

The proposed policies repeatedly insinuate tension between “accommodating” transgender students and “rights and needs of other students and of school staff.” This is present in the model policies’ statement of purpose, which links addressing “the treatment of transgender students” to Virginia’s “efforts to protect… all students”—subtly framing the very existence of transgender students as harmful to others.

There is no tension between full inclusion of transgender students in school life and the rights of any other person. Our civil rights legal framework doesn't encompass any “right” for the state to coerce students into conforming to sex stereotypes so that anti-trans adults can pretend transgender students do not exist. To the contrary, courts have recognized that school policies singling out transgender girls and other gender diverse students for segregation from classmates create greater risks of discriminatory harassment and violence, and may create a climate so hostile these students are unable to succeed and pushed out of school, in violation of federal law.[3]

The proposed model policies appear designed to violate the Constitution and federal law and to expose school districts to legal liability

By implementing the model policies, Virginia schools would violate the Constitution and Title IX. This would lead to costly litigation, and risk the federal funding of every Virginia school district where the model policies are adopted. 50 years ago, Congress enacted Title IX to prohibit all forms of sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities.[4] For decades, courts have affirmed discrimination on the basis of gender identity/transgender status is a form of sex discrimination, including in gender-separated education programs.[5] This includes federal court decisions finding that states do not have any valid interest in excluding transgender women and girls from education opportunities, solely because of who they are.[6] The U.S. Department of Education interprets and enforces Title IX consistent with these court rulings, and is finalizing changes to its Title IX regulations reflecting these rulings.[7]

It is binding federal law in the Fourth Circuit, which includes Virginia, that Title IX prohibits discrimination against transgender students--policies singling out transgender students require heightened scrutiny under the Constitution. Two years ago, in Bostock v. Clayton County, the Supreme Court explained it is logically impossible to discriminate against a person for being transgender without treating them differently because of sex/sex stereotypes.[8]  In Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, the Fourth Circuit subsequently held that the Supreme Court’s reasoning applies fully to Title IX, and prohibits school policies that subject transgender students to harm throughout the school day through a classification relying on unspecified "biological" characteristics or records inconsistent with the student’s gender identity. The Fourth Circuit further held that these policies are subject to heightened scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution, whether considered as a classification based on transgender status or other sex-based characteristics.[9

The Virginia model policies appear solely designed to further the invalid state interest of relegating transgender students to lesser status by excluding them from appropriate school facilities and stripping them of privacy rights; they will likely be found to violate the U.S. Constitution. For example, the model policies suggest transgender and nonbinary students would be singled out from peers and directed to single-person restrooms, which may be located in a school nurse office, locked, or otherwise difficult to access. This would directly violate binding Fourth Circuit decision discussed above. Additionally, the model policies create new restrictions on athletic participation and remove the existing avenues that have allowed some transgender students to participate in K-12 school sports (without problems); this would run afoul of Title IX by excluding transgender and nonbinary students due to gender identity and/or transgender status. Where Virginia school districts enact these model policies, those districts would likely face litigation by private parties and also the federal government. Violating Title IX would not only create substantial litigation costs for local educational agencies as well as the Commonwealth but would put state federal education funding at risk. In 2023, Virginia is projected to receive $1.23 billion from the U.S. Department of Education in K-12 formula grants and federally-supported loans.[10]

The State Cannot Forbid Expressions of Basic Courtesy and Respect and Call it Free Speech

The model policies seek to shield K-12 school staff who would rather discriminate than educate, disingenuously conflating anti-transgender discrimination, including harassment, with freedom of speech and religion. It is well-settled law that unlawful discrimination, including harassment based on protected characteristics such as sex, is not shielded by the First Amendment.[11] As discussed above, the U.S. Department of Education has recognized controlling federal law—Title IX—already protects transgender and nonbinary students from sex discrimination and harassment that would harm their education.[12] No school employee’s religious freedom entitles them to take students’ educational opportunities away.

The 2019 GLSEN School Climate survey found that most Virginia LGBTQ high schoolers are not safe from harassment at school.[13] Where students do experience a supportive school environment, they have higher rates of attendance and academic achievement, and are less likely to experience victimization.[14] For many queer and trans students, essential support often comes from a teacher or school counselor, who may literally serve as a lifeline for our most vulnerable youth. Under the model policies, teachers and other school staff would be censored by their government, forbidden to offer basic courtesy and respect to LGBTQI+ students in the most common scenarios. School staff would be forbidden to ask other students to refrain harassing a fellow student who's transgender, through slurs or relentless use of incorrect names/pronouns to mock and demean.

The model policies position “permission slips” as a reasonable gateway to minimal and begrudging tolerance at school for transgender and nonbinary youth. This reflects either intentional cruelty or shocking ignorance of the material risks transgender youth must navigate in a society that is brutally, sometimes homicidally, transphobic.[15] In practice, gender expansive Virginia students running up against the model policies’ barriers to respect and inclusion will be forced to weather every obstacle of transphobia even as policies prohibit schools from providing many of the supports foundationally necessary to surviving it.

Parents everywhere in the U.S. already have strong, important rights concerning their children’s education. A minority of extremists who claim to be fighting for “parental rights” are stoking bias, fear, and baseless conflict between schools and communities they serve to score political points.

Government enforcement of sex stereotypes especially harms students of color, and increases risks of sex harassment and assault

Transphobia and White Supremacy

The model policies are very likely to cause disparate harm to Black and brown students in Virginia who are perceived as gender nonconforming. Transgender people of color have insightfully explained connections between rigid sex stereotypes and the systemic oppression of Black and brown communities. Dating back to their enslavement, Black women in the U.S. have faced a long, disgraceful history of being systematically stereotyped as too muscular, aggressive, or unattractive to be “real” women. Today, Black feminists continue to fight against racialized scrutiny of femininity and gender expression,[17] & white supremacist groups are a part of the recent increase in calls for violence against queer and transgender people.[18]

The proposed model policies rely on overbroad stereotypes about sex and gender—assuming assigned sex at birth is an appropriate metric for schools to label and divide students of every age, in every activity. Many schools may not have reliable records indicating every student’s assigned birth sex. When school staff are required, per the model policies, to surveil students and report deviation from expected “expression of gender,” they will rely upon and recreate sex stereotypes to make a snap judgment (“a five-year-old girl put on a cowboy hat from the dress-up bin, that’s acting too much like a boy.”). Black and brown girls—who, as explained above, are targeted for not conforming to society’s expectations of white femininity—would be especially vulnerable to constant gender scrutiny demanded in school life by the model policies, as would queer students and other students who don't conform to gender norms. By codifying gender conformity as a condition for full privacy rights and equal dignity, the model policies perpetuate harmful racist and sexist stereotypes that routinely deprive Black and brown girls and young women of equal education.

The model policies may contribute to harassment and educational harms for intersex students, born with natural variations in sex-linked physical characteristics. Intersex students often face harassment and other forms of discrimination in schools because of their sex characteristics.[19] In a 2020 survey of 1,000+ intersex youth, 45% reported gender-based discrimination by school staff.[20] The Fourth Circuit in Grimm noted intersex people may ”comprise a greater fraction of the population than transgender individuals,” yet school policies such those held invalid in that case and those proposed here fail to account for the circumstances of, and may harm, these students.[21]

Sex Harassment and Assault

Implementation of the proposed model policies will also subject students to heightened risks of sex harassment and assault. A growing body of research shows transgender students can thrive when supported by the adults in their lives; social support and affirmation is the evidence-supported intervention to mitigate alarming rates of victimization, distress, and suicidality among transgender youth.[22]

The proposed model policies would worsen already-high rates of sex discrimination faced by transgender students by impeding social support for queer and transgender youth. Bullying, harassment, and sexual violence are often faced by queer and transgender youth—and transgender girls and young women face especially high rates of mistreatment. If schools emphasize how “different” students are, such as by singling out transgender students for use of single-person restrooms, social stigma driving abuse will worsen.[23]

Transgender girls suffer horrific rates of sex harassment and other forms of sex discrimination in schools. According to a 2015 study of 27,000+ transgender adults, 77 percent of those out or perceived as transgender while in K-12 schools faced mistreatment in school due to gender identity—54 percent were verbally harassed, 24 percent were physically attacked, and 13 percent sexually assaulted.[24] Transgender girls are especially vulnerable: they are twice as likely to have been physically attacked or sexually assaulted in K-12 schools due to gender identity compared to transgender boys and nonbinary children.[25] Black children make up 20% of Virginia’s youth population,[26] and K-12 students who are both transgender and Black face even higher rates of anti-trans abuse, with 28 percent facing physical attacks and 19 percent facing sexual assault because of gender.[27

          Neither victimization nor distress suffered by transgender youth are inevitable. Rather, research demonstrates they are primarily a product of social stigma and rejection, whereas supporting and inclusive school policies are associated with lower levels of victimization of transgender students. Overall, when transgender youth are supported by adults in their lives, dramatic disparities in their mental health outcomes disappear.[31

Trans inclusive policies create safe, affirming, and equal educational opportunities for girls, women, and all students

Girls—especially girls facing marginalization along axes such as race, sexual orientation, disability, transgender status, parenting status, and others—face serious barriers to equal opportunity. No problems are solved by singling out and bullying transgender students.

Women’s rights organizations have made clear: inclusion of transgender students is one part of ending sex discrimination in schools. In 2021, the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education—including organizations like AAUW, Girls Inc., and YWCA USA—issued a statement announcing the coalition’s support of transgender and nonbinary students’ “full and equal access to sex-separated activities and facilities consistent with their gender identity.”[32] In 2016 the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence led dozens of sexual assault survivor and domestic violence organizations in a consensus statement confirming that laws protecting transgender people from discrimination in restrooms and locker rooms is consistent with the movement to end sexual and domestic violence.[33]

 If Virginia’s Department of Education is sincerely interested in protecting rights and dignity of all students, including the right to be free from sex-based discrimination and abuse, it should take steps to ensure that Virginia public schools have meaningful improvement in areas that gender justice advocates have long pointed to as real sources of dignity and equality in school, including those discussed at https://nwlc.org/resource/100-school-districts-a-call-to-action-for-school-districts-across-the-country-to-address-sexual-harassment-through-inclusive-policies-and-practices/ Virginia school districts should resoundingly reject these model policies and focus on closing actual gender and racial disparities that harm students, including protecting all students from sex harassment and abuse.

Conclusion

The National Women’s Law Center and our supporting signatory organizations support full inclusion of transgender girls, and all transgender, nonbinary, and intersex students. As courts and scientists overwhelmingly have stated, transgender girls are girls. They need and deserve the same thing as their classmates: a safe school environment where they can learn, grow, and be part of a community. When schools single out transgender and nonbinary students for mistreatment, segregation, and second-class status, they are harming these students gravely—they are also failing in their duty to educate cisgender students who will one day need to navigate a multifaceted and changing adult world, where gender diversity is a fact of reality.

Students who are transgender deserve the chance to succeed and thrive like any other student. Please reach out to Auden Perino, Senior Counsel at NWLC (aperino@nwlc.org), if you have questions.

Thank you,

National Women’s Law Center, joined by

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia

Virginia National Organization for Women (NOW)

American Association of University Women

American Humanist Association

Athlete Ally

CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers

Clearinghouse on Women’s issues

Education Law Center PA

End Rape on Campus

Equal Rights Advocates

Equality California

Family Equality

Feminist Majority Foundation

FORGE, Inc.

Freedom From Religion Foundation

Gender Justice

Gender Spectrum

GLSEN

interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth

Legal Momentum, the Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund

LGBT Tech

Minority Veterans of America

National Black Justice Coalition

National Center for Transgender Equality

National Center for Youth Law

National Council of Jewish Women

National LGBTQ+ Bar Association

National Women’s Political Caucus

Oasis Legal Services

People for the American Way

Physicians for Reproductive Health

SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change

The Advocacy Institute

The Sikh Coalition

The Trevor Project

Union for Reform Judaism

Women's Law Project

For the full text of this comment including citations (due to VDOE word limit) please visit https://nwlc.org/issue/lgbtq-equality/


I cannot encourage kids to choose a sexual preference at the stage of them STILL learning their own!

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Most of these kids (10, 12,15) are still learning their own identity. The parents are causing more confusing by encouraging the kids to change their gender too prematurely. We have to take into consideration the psychological affects of encouraging kids to determine their gender so prematurely.


I vehemently DISAGREE with the Governer's proposed policies

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As a teacher and parent, I vehemently disagree with the policies put forth in the 2022 Model Policies.

While the focus here is on "parental rights," it completely ignores student rights. As educators, we work to do what is best FOR OUR STUDENTS, not what is best for their parents. If parents are concerned because their child discloses a preferred gender identity to their teacher instead of them, perhaps they need to question why. This policy ignores the safety of transgender students. Not all parents are accepting of transgender individuals and many students who are forced into coming out to their parents due to these policies will face abuse and disownment. This marginalized community already faces an extremely high level of mistreatment which cause them to suffer from already high rates of anxiety and depression.

These policies open girls (both transgender AND cisgender) up to more abuse. If students are to play on sports teams (or use bathrooms, locker rooms, etc.) that correspond to their sex at birth, how will that be determined? What if it comes into question? What if your cisgender daughter is kicking butt at whatever sport, and a competitor accuses her of excelling because she's actually transgender? How will it be determined that your daughter is "biologically female"?  It opens up all girls to having their womanhood doubted and tested through genital exams or genetic testing. (Note: as much as 1.7% of the population is intersex and may have genitalia that doesn't correspond to their chromosomes. What happens if that is your daughter? Is she now banned from playing the sport on the girls team? Does she now have to play on the boy's team? Is she now considered a boy?)

This bill does not look at evidence that we have regarding trans-youth. Namely that they are NOT dominating in sports and they are not harassing others in bathrooms (THEY are much MORE likely to be harassed in a bathroom that corresponds to their sex at birth.)

The policies proposed in the 2022 Model Policies are a step backwards in equality for our students. It concerns itself more with appeasing bigoted parents who can vote than actually meeting the diverse needs of the students in Virginia. It puts the safety of all girls at risk. It will do irreparable harm to the already marginalized trans-community. The ultimate goal of these policies come off as simply wanting to ignore or erase their existence and it will lead to more discrimination, not less.


OPPOSE TRANSPHOBIA

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Greetings Governor Youngkin,

I was born and raised an only child of working-class parents in a conservative milieu. I also happened to be born queer. The recipient of prejudicial harassment, social ostracisation, and near-constant shaming during their K-12 experience in and outside of Chesterfield County Public Schools, I tried to take my own life… Twice. The fact that I have to write to you to about the ramifications of outing people in the LGBTQIA+ community and divesting LGBTQIA+ bodily autonomy in what is supposed to be a safe space is as emotionally taxing as it is absurd. By pandering to those who conflate “grooming” with affirming others' personal and social identities, and by renouncing your support of children (like myself) who are a disproportionate target for violence, you are manufacturing more than just depression and resentment in an entire generation of Virginian students; you add further nails to the coffin of the Republican Party by leaving a legacy that is virtually antipodal to Generation Z’s ideologies. Our generation will not forget this openly discriminatory policy, just as we have not forgotten the sociopolitical devastation left in the wake of 45. Teachers will not forget this either, as they are already overworked. Adding queerphobic reconnoissance to their job description won’t endear you to them, nor will it help the teacher shortage or the dilapidated education system. The quickest way to ruin a political party is to repeal human rights. Don't do it.

-Gray Black


Strongly oppose

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This policy is contrary to any claim that you are supporting youth who are transgender. Students deserve the right to be their own person, to be called by the name they choose, and to live their most honest and true life. Forcing the beliefs of their family onto them and not respecting their decision to be an individual is a travesty that will cause more harm and mental health issues. How can a student be expected to learn and grow in an environment that restricts the very being of who they are? Never mind that this policy disregards tolerance towards others. As a parent I do not think I have a right to tell my child what they are or are not; therefore, the Government shouldn’t either. This policy is a sad day for children and for Virginia. Just because someone doesn’t follow the same belief as you, doesn’t mean they should be discriminated against. This “model” policy is discriminatory and disgraceful. What a shame.


SUPPORT PARENTAL RIGHTS POLICIES

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Parents must be in charge of raising their own children, not the State! While children who are thinking about gender issues deserve sympathy, care and support, this does not mean yanking them away from their families or talking to such children behind the backs of the parents. Are we turning into China or some other authoritarian country? Children are not mature enough to diagnose themselves as transgender.

Furthermore, schools should not be promoting transgenderism as normal and putting wild ideas in the heads of impressionable children. I saw what happened with my own child when public school officials put ideas in her head--TWICE--about things she never would have otherwise thought of,  and then refused to tell me, her mother, what was going on!! Adolescent girls are insecure and worried about their bodies enough as it is--don't make that worse by telling them the fantasy, "Oh you must be in the wrong body, but don't worry, we can fix that with a few drugs and a little surgery, and we don't even have to tell your parents!"

Furthermore, allowing boys claiming to be girls to compete in sports against girls is preposterous. You are simply erasing girls' sports when you do that.

And finally, unless you set up individual, unisex bathrooms, allowing boys claiming to be girls in the girls' bathroom/lockerroom is an invitation to sexual harassment and an unconscionable trespass on the privacy of girls, especially when they are at an insecure and vulnerable age.


Schools need to stay out of family business!

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When it comes to my children, the school system and government has no rights. These are my children. I birthed them, I clothe them, I feed them, I am their first educator and guardian. Schools have no right to keep information about our children from us. Gender dysphoria is a mental illness that should not be promoted and cheered for by the school system and government. A teacher that is discussing anything regarding gender/sex with children should be fired and placed on the sex offender registry. Biological boys have no right to be in girls restrooms, play in girls sports, or be in girls locker rooms. Biological girls should not be allowed in boys restrooms, play boys sports, or be in boys locker rooms. Attempting to keep any information from a parent should be grounds for immediate firing. Parents have a right to seek medical treatment for their child should they need it. Hands off our children!


OPPOSE - DOE's new draft regulations

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These new policies are incredibly harmful to transgender-youth. All students should be able to attend safe and affirming schools. Also, queer/transgender students should not be scared about being outed to their parents. This can be extremely dangerous, especially depending on the home these students are currently living in. As a 26 year old woman, who lives on her own and pays all of her bills, I am still afraid to come out to my parents who live states away. I cannot imagine the fear and anxiety one would have living under their parent's roof as a minor who is closeted for the sake of their safety/well-being. Queer youth have been kicked out of their "loving" parents' homes time and time again for showing who they truly are.

Also, if we truly care about depression/suicide rates- I recommend reading the following:

Transgender youth are more at risk for mental illness, including depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and attempts, and self-harm than their non-transgender peers, according to a new study led by Sari L. Reisner, research scientist at The Fenway Institute and postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The study was published online January 7, 2015 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

The findings point to the need for gender-affirming mental health services and interventions to support transgender youth, Reisner told WBUR’s CommonHealth January 8, 2015. Until now there has been limited data available comparing the mental health of transgender adolescents with their peers. However, recent news reports of an apparent suicide of an Ohio transgender teen have pushed the topic to the forefront.

The new study examined data on 180 transgender patients ages 12-29 years matched with non-transgender patients who were seen at the Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center, a Boston-based community health center serving youth. Compared with non-transgender peers, transgender youth were found to have an elevated risk of being diagnosed with depression (50.6% vs. 20.6%); suffer from anxiety (26.7% vs. 10%); had attempted suicide (17.2% vs. 6.1%); and had engaged in self-harming activities without lethal intent (16.7% vs. 4.4%).

“If a person is not being seen for who they are it can be very distressing. So pediatricians present a very important entry point into care and can get youth who need services to the right place,” Reisner said.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/transgender-youth-at-risk-for-depression-suicide/

Just love each other, and let kids/teens be who they truly are.


Protect Trans Kids

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These laws will kill children. Protect the rights of children to be and express themselves how they feel. Trans kids are just as important and valid as any other child. Shame on you for endangering children!!


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I stand with trans kids, oppose this policy


All for the new policy

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<p>Grow up you liberals. The new policies will in no way persecute anyone. They are intended to leave the education of academic subjects to the schools and leaving the morality, social responsibility and guidance up to the parents at home as they see fit as it should be. You make common sense reform out as being some sort of prejudicial policy which it is not. We teach our kids at home to respect everyone and treat everyone the same no matter what their differences and instill in them good moral character. That’s our job, not the school’s. That’s is all this new policy is about. </p>


Stop the sexualization of children

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As a public school educator and a professional who has worked with children for over 25 years, it is unimaginable to think parents should have no input on major life changing decisions concerning their own children. Consider the absurdity of not being able to give a simple Tylenol or Neosporin to a child without parental consent, but at the same token, advocating medical procedures which can mutilate and harm a healthy body and cause permanent sterility without parental knowledge.  It is also inconsistent to say a boy can transition to a female when the definition of “male” and “female” can no longer be defined.  Using this same logic, If a child” thinks” or “feels” they are a member of a different race, or even a animal then it would be the school system and the government’s job to not only help such a child transition and tax payer expense, but keep the parents in the dark about this absurdity as well.  In essence, this comes down to design vs desire. Design is supported by empirical science while the latter is subjective and reminiscent of the notorious Alfred Kinsey who molested children in the name of “science” and promoted the sexualization of children and removal of laws to protect children from those who might try to exploit them. Children do not have the maturity and life experience to make such permanent life altering decisions such as taking hormone blockers and having major surgery and the indoctrinating innocent minds into doubting their biological design is the type of pseudo-science Kinsey was hoping to impose on an unsuspecting public. There are many well documented cases of adults who have had “sex changes” and then regretted the decision later.

Another aspect to consider is that Title 9 of the Constitution will become invalidated. Designed to protect and give females an equal opportunity in sports, having biological males competing as females will give them an unfair and obvious advantage, thus eliminating the original meaning and intent of the law. A Marxist strategy is create conflict between certain groups of people and then politically support one of the groups over the other, especially if it is a smaller group. This means the rights of parents and students who are not LGBTQ+ end and must be subservient to them or face consequences. Who really comes out ahead in this situation?  It is those who are using the LGBTQ+ people as political pawns for political power.  If it is not parents and concerned adults, then who will protect the young and innocent from voyeurists and others who have already used the LGBTQ+ movement to exploit children? Please stand with governor Youngkin.


NO to Anti-Transgender Education Guidelines

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However you feel about transgender identities and talking about LGBTQ+ issues in school, the proposed restrictions on trans student rights in Virginia are abhorrent. Adolescents are in a period of figuring out who they are and know better about the way they feel than anyone else; treating them with the respect of letting them express their identity freely and access facilities in which they feel comfortable should be the minimum.

To see adults purposefully demeaning and mistreating children by requiring transgender students to be outed to their parents, prohibiting transgender students from accessing sex-separated facilities or organizations based on their gender identity, and giving license to school employees to misgender transgender students is disgusting. This has nothing to do with how you feel about gender reassignment surgeries or hormones or whatever else you may take issue with, these are basic rights. It's confusing to me why adults feel the need to police children's sexual orientations and gender identities in the first place. If the individual identity of a child is something that you take issue with, then you are the problem.

To actively reject a transgender students right to expression, to be referred to by the gender pronouns they wish (do you have a problem with students using nicknames?), and to give them the basic amenity to use a bathroom that they feel comfortable with is only asking for mental health crises. Please reconsider this proposal.


Strongly Agree

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I strongly agree with the Policy on Privacy, Dignity et. al.

Parents must be included in all decisions for their children.  They are the LEGAL guardian and responsible for the welfare of their children.  If this regulation is not passed, not only does it remove the legal rights of the parents/guardians, it places children in jeopardy.  Children would be forced to make decisions based on the guidance of school professionals. Children are not able to navigate such decisions without the guidance of parents.  In fact, that is why we have legal guardianship in this country.  And, in fact, schools already implement this process in many ways, such as signing a student out of school etc.  If schools require legal authority for something as simple as being late, sine out etc. they certainly should agree that legal authority is required for more serious issues such as gender counseling and religious freedom.


TALK TO A TRANS PERSON

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<p>It is SO WRONG that you are pushing a right-wing, Christian Nationalist agenda from the Governor's office and you are doing something which will hurt kids but you haven't spoken to a SINGLE Trans kid or their family.  Shame on you.  You don't represent us.  Oh, and by the way, just travelled to Europe.  Half of their bathrooms are unisex.  And it was totally and completely fine.  </p>


Strongly opposed

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As a Virginia citizen and a mental health provider I strongly oppose these proposed model policies. These proposed model policies are contrary to state law and will be extremely harmful to transgender and nonbinary kids. Trans and nonbinary kids deserve protection just like all of children in Virginia. Rescind these model policies. Research shows that affirming trans and non binary youth leads to better mental health outcomes. Virginia is a beautiful place that I'm proud to make my home. But policies like these are contrary to the welcoming place I know the state to be. Parents rights are important but these model policies are literally in contrast to those parents who want their child to be treated equally and affirmed in their gender identity.


Strongly support reversal of the policy

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Thank you for standing up for children to be able to learn and thrive without political ideology being forced upon them


Support All parents and children, not just the few

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The new policies protect the liberty and rights of all students and parents, the primary educators of their children.  Bathrooms should be used by children who are male and female by birth.  Stall doors in bathrooms would provide privacy to all students using them.  Parents must know what is going on with students.  Nothing should be hidden from them regarding perceived gender dysphoria in their children, or exposure to strange behaviors, sexual or otherwise, by other children.  Students participating in sex specific events,and activities, should have lodging and locker rooms assigned according to the same sex.


Fully Support Changes!

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Parents are responsible for their children until the age of 18. They NEED to be aware of what is going on with their kids, as it would be insane to NOT have parents "in the know" if they are ultimately held responsible.

Additionally, school should be that neutral place for our kids to focus on learning and developing their interpersonal skills, period. I truly believe that school is not the proper forum to insist that everyone, adults included, should over-prioritize how an underage and unaccountable child believes they feel about their sex and/or name etc. Ultimately, it is distracting and unproductive.

I am NOT saying a child’s feelings don’t matter, I’m only saying that it is the parents’ job to manage and not everyone else’s. If the accountable adult decides that a name change etc. is warranted, go through the appropriate process. Doing that shows everyone that you are serious, accountable and support your child’s decision. If we (parents) are to be encouraged to have our kids accept anything, it should not something that does not change as easily as a phone number. A name change upon application is perfect!


I strongly oppose this proposed policy

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<p>This proposal would create a hostile and potentially dangerous school environment for our transgender and nonbinary youth, requiring teachers and staff to forcibly "out" students, prohibit staff from supporting trans and nonbinary students and prohibit access or participation in activities consistent with their gender identity.  </p>


Strongly oppose

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This idea was a stupid one from the start.  The rollback of protections and rights of the trans community should not be entertained...period.  This will harm children.


Strongly oppose the model policy

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I strongly oppose the dictation of which children are accepted and cared for, which in this policy, means denying the humanity of our LGBTQIA+ kids, our black and brown kids, our kids with disabilities, and many others. Just a few more facts if it's not enough to ask for basic empathy and human rights...

> having at least one accepting adult can reduce the risk of a suicide attempt by 40%

> 45% of LGBTQ youth seriously attempted suicide in the past year, including 53% of transcended & nonbinary youth

> the mental health of 86% of transgender & nonbinary youth and 66% of all LGBTQ youth has been negatively impacted by anti-trans bills and the continued debate around them


Strongly Opposed

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<p>This policy will unnecessarily endanger transgender students. Having their identities affirmed at school and being addressed by their chosen names and pronouns is essential for students’ safety at school. If students don’t have a basic level of safety and comfort at school, they cannot learn. </p>


Transkids

Jojo Robertson, Stand for the Silent Albemarle Chapter

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<p>Sadly parents may be there kids worse bullies. Kids need to have a safe space to talk about their feelings, thoughts and ideas about being trans. Please support kids if they are scared or hesitant to come out. I feel that Younkin is changing policies not because it helps the LGBTQIA community but because it helps him gain votes! Put kids first! </p>


Fully Support

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Common sense policies that support parents and protect our children.


Support for the proposition

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I support this proposition!!!! Save our children!!!


Strongly Support

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Thank you for proposing this model policy.  Parents should be involved with these issues with their children and not excluded.  I believe this is a commonsense policy that still protects individuals.  I do not believe that individuals that are born as males should not be allowed to participate in girls' sports.  I do believe that all individuals should be treated with respect.  Please implement this policy.


Strongly Support

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I strongly support these policies.  They provide dignity to students and respect for parents who should be treated as partners in ensuring their child's well-being and partners in their education. Currently, under Northam's guidelines parents are being activly deceived about their children's well-being, which is a poor example to all students and does not actually protect vulnerable students.


Rights for transgender students

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<p>I am a parent in Loudoun County and a Girl Scout leader with several transgender children in my troop. Using preferred names and pronouns is a form of basic respect and allows us all to live with dignity. The prior guidance and the support at home for family, friends, and the school community saved children's lives. I am concerned that those who support the new "policies," most likely do not have an impacted child or even know anyone who is transgender. Where is our empathy? Our transgender community deserves human rights. </p>


Support

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Teachers think they own the children they teach. Kids are extremely suggestible and don't need to be exposed to gender identity nonsense at young ages behind their parents' backs. We are not "saving" children by putting them through irreversible medical procedures before the age of 18. Many of the "Strongly oppose" commenters do not even have children in Virginia they just think everyone should be forced to believe what they do.


Protect Emotionally Vulnerable Children and Parental Rights!

Dear Virginia Dept of Education,

Schools should never secretly socially transition students and keep the child's new name, pronouns and gender identities from parents. I am pleased and relieved that the Virginia Department of Education's revised model policies support parental rights and ensure that school employees don't cut parents out of critical decisions for their children.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued "model policies" in 2021 that encouraged every school district in Virginia to hide a child's new gender identity from parents who choose to affirm the child's biological sex. Under Governor Youngkin's leadership, the VDOE's revised policies make it clear that all children should be valued and parents' rights and beliefs should be respected. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools keep parents involved in major decisions in their children's lives.

The 2021 VDOE "model policies" encouraged schools to create "a plan (that) may include addressing the student at school with their name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity while using the legal name and pronoun associated with the sex assigned at birth when communicating with parents or guardians."

I strongly support the revised policies that end this practice. Virginia schools should not drive a wedge between parents and their emotionally vulnerable children. Virginia school districts, including those who have already communicated their plans to ignore the 2022 revised model policies, should put an end to secret Gender Support Plans now.

Sincerely,
James Amico
4511 Hazelnut Ct
Chantilly, VA 20151

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Dear Virginia Dept of Education,<br /><br />Schools should never secretly socially transition students and keep the child's new name, pronouns and gender identities from parents. I am pleased and relieved that the Virginia Department of Education's revised model policies support parental rights and ensure that school employees don't cut parents out of critical decisions for their children. <br /><br />The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued "model policies" in 2021 that encouraged every school district in Virginia to hide a child's new gender identity from parents who choose to affirm the child's biological sex. Under Governor Youngkin's leadership, the VDOE's revised policies make it clear that all children should be valued and parents' rights and beliefs should be respected. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools keep parents involved in major decisions in their children's lives.<br /><br />The 2021 VDOE "model policies" encouraged schools to create "a plan (that) may include addressing the student at school with their name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity while using the legal name and pronoun associated with the sex assigned at birth when communicating with parents or guardians." <br /><br />I strongly support the revised policies that end this practice. Virginia schools should not drive a wedge between parents and their emotionally vulnerable children. Virginia school districts, including those who have already communicated their plans to ignore the 2022 revised model policies, should put an end to secret Gender Support Plans now.<br /><br />Sincerely,
<br />James Amico
<br />4511 Hazelnut Ct<br />Chantilly, VA 20151<br /><img src="http://admin.phone2action.com/email/open/leg/657523/148807078" width="1" height="1" />


Why would you do this

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I vehemently oppose all anti trans policies, this doesn’t reflect the state I live in nor the will of the people.


Transgender policy in schools

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<p>I wholeheartedly agree with Governor Youngkin's proposed policy regarding so-called transgender students. God doesn't make mistakes. Therefore, when the Almighty creates a human being male or female in the womb, God is correct and anyone who wishes to influence a young person into "changing" his or her sex is dreadfully wrong. So-called "sex-change" hormones and operations amount to child abuse and mutilation. Parents should have sole responsibility for protecting their children from these atrocities. Teachers must not be permitted any authority in such matters. And girls should not be subjected to having boys and young men allowed into their bathrooms, locker rooms, shower stalls, or athletic competitions. Thank you, Governor Youngkin, for addressing these mentally and spiritually disturbed practices. </p>


Agree - Kids needs guidance from people who cares for them most

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<p>I agree that parents should have the first say to their kids up bringing.  At such tender age, it is imperative that these kids be guided by those who cares for them. These kids don't know much about the world and with such innocence, their parents should have the rights to teach them the values and principles that would prepare them for their future. Schools or other establishments should take the back sit.  </p>


I oppose Gov. Youngkin's proposed policies regarding transgender students in school.

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Research has found that the risk of depression and suicide for transgender young people drops when they feel accepted and supported in their home and in their school.  Gov. Youngkin's proposal ensures that transgender young people will no longer feel safe in school even if they feel safe at home.  And for those young people who don't feel safe at home, it means there is no safe place for them.  This directly increases the risk depression and suicide, and decreases the young person's ability to learn which is, of course, the primary reason for school.

School should be a safe place for everyone.  Young people deserve respect, safety, and trust that they are the experts on themselves.


Save our kids, support 100!!

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Parents have the first right to how a child should be raised. Government and public schools never have the good of your child more at heart than you do.  Kids make bad decisions, that’s just how it works. Parents are there to be decision makers for them on important matters. Save our kids, let parents do their job!


Dear Virginia Dept of Education,

Schools should never secretly socially transition students and keep the child's new name, pronouns and gender identities from parents. I am pleased and relieved that the Virginia Department of Education's revised model policies support parental rights and ensure that school employees don't cut parents out of critical decisions for their children.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued "model policies" in 2021 that encouraged every school district in Virginia to hide a child's new gender identity from parents who choose to affirm the child's biological sex. Under Governor Youngkin's leadership, the VDOE's revised policies make it clear that all children should be valued and parents' rights and beliefs should be respected. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools keep parents involved in major decisions in their children's lives.

The 2021 VDOE "model policies" encouraged schools to create "a plan (that) may include addressing the student at school with their name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity while using the legal name and pronoun associated with the sex assigned at birth when communicating with parents or guardians."

I strongly support the revised policies that end this practice. Virginia schools should not drive a wedge between parents and their emotionally vulnerable children. Virginia school districts, including those who have already communicated their plans to ignore the 2022 revised model policies, should put an end to secret Gender Support Plans now.

Sincerely,
Shana Mell
806 Turner Rd
Richmond, VA 23225

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Dear Virginia Dept of Education,<br /><br />Schools should never secretly socially transition students and keep the child's new name, pronouns and gender identities from parents. I am pleased and relieved that the Virginia Department of Education's revised model policies support parental rights and ensure that school employees don't cut parents out of critical decisions for their children. <br /><br />The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued "model policies" in 2021 that encouraged every school district in Virginia to hide a child's new gender identity from parents who choose to affirm the child's biological sex. Under Governor Youngkin's leadership, the VDOE's revised policies make it clear that all children should be valued and parents' rights and beliefs should be respected. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools keep parents involved in major decisions in their children's lives.<br /><br />The 2021 VDOE "model policies" encouraged schools to create "a plan (that) may include addressing the student at school with their name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity while using the legal name and pronoun associated with the sex assigned at birth when communicating with parents or guardians." <br /><br />I strongly support the revised policies that end this practice. Virginia schools should not drive a wedge between parents and their emotionally vulnerable children. Virginia school districts, including those who have already communicated their plans to ignore the 2022 revised model policies, should put an end to secret Gender Support Plans now.<br /><br />Sincerely,
<br />Shana Mell
<br />806 Turner Rd<br />Richmond, VA 23225<br /><img src="http://admin.phone2action.com/email/open/leg/657523/148807045" width="1" height="1" />


Keep Trans Kids Safe

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As an educator and a parent, I firmly oppose this guidance.


These Regulations Support Trans Kids in the Best Way - Holistically

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<p>Governor Youngkin's new policy ensures that a child that may be gender confused will get the best overall emotional care, support, guidance and help during a frightening and confusing time for a child. Trying to cut parents out their child's lives should NEVER be a solution to a child's emotional problems unless there are obvious signs of abuse, and then we already have robust laws that protect children from abuse as well as require mandatory reporting by school personnel. Stop trying to hurt our children by cutting parents out of their lives and trying to use Safety as a front for a political agenda. This regulation is common sense, and well overdue! </p>


Disgusting, Discriminatory Policy

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This policy would clearly harm transgender and nonbinary students. While I wish we lived in a world where all parents are supportive of their child's identity and sexuality, it's clear that there are far too many that are like Governor Youngkin--fearful, discriminatory, and transphobic.

As a parent of an 8th grader, I am repeatedly struck by how loving, open, and supportive these teens are of each other. They don't care what gender you identify with, who you love, or how you love them. We should take a page out of their book and lead with love and respect. Noting is to be gained from this policy except another slip down the slope towards government controlling our bodies. Step back and focus on educating our kids.

I urge the VDOE to reject this hateful policy.


I Support Trans Youth

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<p>The government has no place in defining gender identity. I support trans youth in making the best decisions for themselves and their mental health. </p>


Strongly OPPOSED to this policy revision

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As the parent to a transgender child, I strongly OPPOSE this revision to the guidance.

I've taken the time to read the entire document twice. Although this policy is couched in the language of parental involvement and parental rights, it utterly fails to consider the rights of parents of trans and non-binary kids — not to mention the rights of those kids themselves.

These policies set an unnecessarily high bar for accessing even basic services and acknowledgement that aligns with a child's gender. Furthermore, this is a significant distraction for my child being able to learn, which is the primary reason kids are in school in the first place.

We're genuinely not asking for special treatment — simply basic respect and to be left alone like everyone else.

I'm aware of several kids at my child's high school who are trans or gender nonconforming, but who are not out to their parents (or who came out at one time but decided to subsequently hide who they are at home because of significantly transphobic reactions from their parents) precisely because their parents would be emotionally (and in some cases physically) abusive toward them.

Forcing these kids to repress who they truly are will lead directly to mental health issues, self-harm, and, too often, suicide. Studies and anecdotal experience both show that trans/LGBTQ+ kids who are supported at home tend to lead happy, healthy lives on par with cisgender children. The statistics for kids who are not supported, or who are forcibly outed, are far more grim.

Although our child is supported at home, if the BOE adopts these model policies and our school division were to adopt them, we would be forced to consider removing our child from the public school system in order to protect her from harm. This is not an option we want to have to consider — our kid enjoys her high school and her friends there. While the school environment has been generally supportive, these policies will have a way to providing implicit permission to transphobic students to engage in harassment, bullying, and even violence because they reflect an attitude that transgender people do not belong and are not accepted.

Is this really the type of environment in which we want our children to go to school?

In summary, these model policies are actively dangerous to our children. Our school division preaches kindness and respect, but these policies do not reflect and are not compatible with those professed values.

Please vote against adopting these policy revisions.


Youngin’s proposed guidance for trans students


Strongly Oppose Governor Youngkin's policy and Support Transgender youth and families

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We should strive for inclusion and an understanding of intrinsic human value and dignity.

I am astounded that many statements from our politicians, and leaders have stated that this policy "simply require[s] the involvement of parents in important decisions about the lives of their children" or current policy "allows teachers and school administrators to keep parents in the dark about important information about their own children" or "we should not accommodate your mental illness" and many more. At the same time these same people espouse to the notion of "pro life".

Let's take a step back and think about the value of All human life and the dignity of ALL human life. I am a parent of a large family in current standards. Our children who have gone through Virginia Public Schools and we value ALL life no matter where that person is in their life journey. When you look at ALL people with dignity and respect, you cannot dismiss them so easily or demean them or discount their struggles because you do not understand or it is not convenient for you or socially acceptable for you to engage with them.

Our children are our future and our present. We should protect, educate, guide, love, and cherish them for who they are and all they have the potential to become. In doing so, we are charged with working with our community, neighbors, teachers, and others to raise the next generation of citizens to be their best people they can. Not all families are this supportive and therefore the community must take up the slack and help. Transgender children who have supportive parents will have no issue working with the tribe around their child but those who do not have supportive parents need that tribe to protect them and work to help those parents understand and work with their child. The proposed policy does not provide support for the youth who have no support to start with. The rates of self harm, bullying, harassment, violence, and suicide for these youth are astounding. This policy would make things worse and these numbers will only rise.

The schools are not keeping parents in the dark, they are not denying parents to be involved in their children's lives and this is not a mental illness problem. The schools are providing the safe environment they have tried to be for centuries to children. Let's focus on educating parents how to speak with their children and allowing children to have a voice. Children need to have a safe environment to be true to themselves and that space SHOULD be at home and at school! Do not take one of these away as they may only have one space to begin with. None of this is easy but let's not make it harder.

I am an LGBTQ+ ally as I believe in the dignity of ALL human life. Therefore, I cannot support the Youngkin proposed policy and hope our leaders do not as well.


Youngkin’s Trans Policy


Strongly Support! Education must be rooted in truth.

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I strongly support this change in policy that brings some semblance of common sense back to our public schools. The rise of transgenderism in this country is a cultural sickness, albeit a trendy one, not grounded in any truth, fact or reality. It is a phenomenon created entirely by the modern West with its own made-up language and made-up rules. Forcing educators to abide by these nonsensical, made-up rules and subjecting our children to falsehoods is not compassionate, it is harmful. Allowing sexually confused kids special privileges at the expense and safety of other students, and deliberately keeping it from their parents is abhorrent. A biological male using the girls' bathroom, participating in girls' sports, invading their private space, and demanding that others refer to him by grammatically incorrect pronouns is NOT A RIGHT.

When education is not rooted in truth, it ceases to be education, and becomes indoctrination. Children do not have the mental capacity to discern between the 2, so it is our job as adults to provide them with truth, grounding and leadership. They will not receive these virtues from our current culture, and it appears that they are not receiving them in our schools either- which is why this change in policy is so desperately needed.


Disgusting, Discriminatory Policy


This is a Smokescreen

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These policies claim to support parental rights but they do not. At no point have parental rights or responsibilities been threatened. Instead, policies like this are a thinly hidden attempt by Christian extremists to force their way of thinking on to everyone else.

We claim to respect students and to support them, yet we refuse to support or listen to trans students. The ideas Gov. Youngkin wants you to believe are false. No student in carelessly claiming to be transgender. No student is doing it to get preferential treatment or to gain access to a bathroom. Instead, it is a carefully reasoned, often painfully-arrived at, decision these young people make as they start to develop maturity and step out into the world.

We expect students to start to become more and more responsible, to make more decisions for themselves, and yet the executive power of the state is attempting to target trans students and tell them what they can and can't do with their bodies? This is gross overreach by Gov. Youngkin, who is abusing his power.

Everyone can best be served, protected, and educated by working together, talking, and listening to one another. Dividing people with these invasive policies gets nowhere.

Having a trans student in class does not affect your child's education. I know this as a public school teacher. Students should be free to learn and free to be themselves. They should not be forced to conform by the state.

Protect our kids. Protect our rights. Oppose Gov. Youngkin's overreach of power and his attempt to instill his narrow-minded views upon the state of Virginia.


strongly opposed

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All this will do is teach kids that the way that they feel is wrong. Which why would we ever do this when we tell them since they’re young that they can be whatever they want as long as they’re happy. What gives you the right to tell them what they can and can’t be. Kids deserve to feel good and be happy with themselves rather than feeling ashamed of who they are. Let kids express themselves they are not hurting anything or anyone by doing this because it’s make them happy. This is absolutely disgusting and ridiculous. I am disappointed and just sad that this is what our world has turned it. I am fully opposed to this.