Attacking non-binary students

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Governor, you are not qualified to determine a person's, much less a child's, gender/sex identity.  Science recognizes a variety of gender identities.  Your attacks on children that do not 'fit' your definition of female or male is harmful to those children, their families and teaches other children what hate is.  Stay out of an issue - gender identity- that should not be within your domain as governor.  Hate and discrimination are not needed at this time in Virginia or the United States.  Keep your fear and hate to yourself.


Oppose

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I oppose the guidance as it is an attack on Virginia children and teens.


Oppose

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I strongly oppose this guidance


VDOE Model

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I am opposed to the proposed VDOE model regarding transgender students.  Being a child in a minority that is widely denigrated is already harmful to these children.  This model does not even honor the reality of these children.  The Commonwealth of Virginia is tasked with protecting vulnerable children and this model does not do that.

Please retain the current 2021 model.

Louise Cumpson


Protect our youth

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Denying any person their right to choose how to present themselves to the world is an absolute violation of their right to body autonomy. If you are looking into other bathroom stalls or at children’s body parts, then you are the problem not them.


Strongly oppose


Support 2022 Model Policies

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I am a mother first, educator second.

I have 5 children, one who attends FCPS.

Please affirm the rights of parents, and only make policies that consistently build partnerships aligned with family first, schools second.


Safe environment for all!

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I believe maintenance of a safe and supportive learning environment, free from discrimination and harassment for all students, should be a matter of course.


I oppose Youngkin’s policy and support trans youth

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Trans rights are human rights. I oppose Youngkin’s policy.


Definitely support Govenor Youngkin 2022 model policies

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Please pass 2022 model policies


SUPPORT!!!  THANK YOU FROM PROTECTING KIDS FROM LIBERAL SICKNESS(GROOMERS)

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I support the new guidelines, along with any other sane parent!  This is why we elected you!


OPPOSE harming LGBTQIA+ Youth

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"This flies in the face of all research regarding the protection of LGBTQIA+ kids. This will result in more child abuse, displacement (houselessness), and severe mental health traumas. Legislators should do their research; the National Alliance on Mental Illness has significant data demonstrating that a child who is not affirmed in their LGBTQIA+ identify at home is at greater risk of mental health difficulties at even suicide."}'>This flies in the face of all research regarding the protection of LGBTQIA+ kids. This will result in more child abuse, displacement (houselessness), and severe mental health traumas. Legislators should do their research; the National Alliance on Mental Illness has significant data demonstrating that a child who is not affirmed in their LGBTQIA+ identify at home is at greater risk of mental health difficulties at even suicide.


As a parent & teacher - OPPOSE

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As a parent and teacher for over a decade, I strongly oppose this bill.

NOT because I’m anti-parents…

but did y’all read the bill?? Did y’all read the 2021 version?? This strips away protections and it also leaves it very generic and non-specific in some parts. OPPOSE


Fundamentally Wrong: 2022 Model Policies ... for Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools

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Governor Youngkin:

The recently released proposed policy would require Virginia schools to discriminate against transgender youth, reversing evidence-based best practice trans-inclusive policies established in 2021.  The proposed policies seek to erase trans and nonbinary youth from the classroom and create a hostile and dangerous school environment.  They restrict restroom access and sports participation for transgender and nonbinary students, require faculty and staff to "out" trans and nonbinary students to their parents, and prohibit teachers and staff from supporting trans students in a variety of ways, including blocking them from using a student's affirming name and pronouns.  They infringe on the child's right to learn, free from discrimination and harassment, and they challenge the Virginia Department of Education's commitment to ensuring positive, safe and nurturing learning environments for all students.

I have compared and contrasted the 2021 and 2022 model polices.  I find the previous policy more complete and comprehensive and filled with up to date references on the sociology of gender and sexuality. The 2021 policy is science-supported and reflects modern social systems; the 2022 policy is politically motivated, based on medieval through Victorian Era pseudo-science and driven by paternalistic parent-centered family systems. In addition, the 2021 policy seems more actionable and clear (with many helpful suggestions for implementation) than the 2022 proposal.

The overwhelming majority of trans youth feel unsafe at school.  The proposed 2022 policies will increase those feelings.  I have seen this anxiety in the testimony and faces of students at a pre-meeting rally and at the Fairfax County School Board meeting on October 6, 2022.

Research also consistently shows that LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to attempt suicide than their peers.  The research also shows that rates of attempted suicide are reduced in safe and affirming environments such as schools which are welcoming and affirming of their identity.  I am afraid that if Virginia continues to march toward unwelcoming and unaccepting practices for LGBTQ+ youth, this more vulnerable cohort will be harmed.  They will feel bullied, excluded, othered, unvalued, or unwanted and respond with loneliness, inability to cope, deepening depression, suicidal ideation and eventually tragedy. We should not set ourselves up to loose any of the next generation this way.

This policy is fundamentally wrong.  Taking this step risks increasing unacceptable tragedy.  Many stand to loose; few, if any, stand to gain by imposing this new policy. This policy is certainly cruel, and it is clearly wrong.

Peter B. Fontneau, M.Div.

Consultant, Unitarian Universalist Guild of Interim Religious Educators

Certified Facilitator, Our Whole Live Sexuality Education Program, All Age Levels


Oppose

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"I never got to be out as trans in school, but I'm so happy kids in this generation are able to be. It's such a big deal to be able to just be who you are and not have to pretend. I would have been so much happier if I'd had that opportunity. The idea the someone is trying to take this away from trans kids, some of the most vulnerable in our society, is disgusting. Not only that, it's a violation of their human right to be treated with dignity. We're going to see real children hurt and maybe killed with this policy. I can't stand by and watch that happen."}">I never got to be out as trans in school, but I'm so happy kids in this generation are able to be. It's such a big deal to be able to just be who you are and not have to pretend. I would have been so much happier if I'd had that opportunity. The idea the someone is trying to take this away from trans kids, some of the most vulnerable in our society, is disgusting. Not only that, it's a violation of their human right to be treated with dignity. We're going to see real children hurt and maybe killed with this policy. I can't stand by and watch that happen.


We should be prioritizing children over politics

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If these rules are intended to serve Virginia students and children and ensure their wellbeing, they need to be rewritten. The guidelines as proposed open transgender students to bullying and abuse from peers, teachers, and family and will likely lead to an increase in mental health crises among Virginia children including self harm and suicide.

to improve, these guidelines should instead focus on ensuring students have access to gender neutral bathrooms and non-binary sports teams (if the department is determined to keeping these students completely separate from their cisgendered peers they should at least try not to actively harm them in the process). As for requiring educators to out students to their parents, I’m afraid I don’t see the purpose other than encouraging students to stay in the closet.

I urge the department to scrap these guidelines consult with experts on childhood development and mental health to create new guidelines based in compassion, empathy, and best practices to prioritize the health and well-being of our children over political agendas.


This is a terrible policy decision.

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This is a terrible policy decision.


I support 2022 model policies

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<p>Thank you Govenor Youngkin-I strongly support 2022 model policies </p>


An attempt to disappear trans youth

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I strongly oppose changes to the model policy that Governor Youngkin is attempting to pass. Trans youth deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and to have their identities respected and not made to feel otherd just for being themselves. These policies are explicitly designed to prevent trans people from participating in public life, starting in the schools. These policies send a clear message to trans kids that they are not welcome as themselves but are an obstacle to be overcome or a political pawn. This matter was largely settled and widely adopted by schools across Virginia already but Youngkin has decided to drag this issue back into public debate simply to score political points. This is part of an ongoing fight to push trans people out of public life and doing it to the most vulnerable of the population, children.


Try putting  yourself in someone else's place! Don't discriminate

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<p>Imagine if this is your child.  Would you want a criminal background check on an innocent growing child? This policy is not only horrible, it is ridiculous.  </p>


I strongly oppose the guidelines revised guidelines

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I oppose the guidelines for offering inadequate protections for trans students. The revisions inappropriately privilege parents and disrupt the balance of family and teacher relationships that are helpful and necessary in dealing with difficult issues. Students can often find a safe haven in schools. These guidelines are one more step in the current governor’s determination to pit parents against teachers (see the “tip line” to tattle on teachers) and to undermine our public education system and drive away teachers.


OPPOSE the new - keep the old

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<p>I vehemently OPPOSE this proposal ..and believe we ought to keep the 2021 regulation in place, as our children need to feel accepted and safe in school. Any parent who has a child with gender identity issues knows how much they can be harmed by being forced to deny their identity and thereby told that something is wrong with them.  Youngkin is way off base on this issue.  </p>


All Students deserve protection

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"All Students need protection, a true statement that is being used much like \"all lives matter,\" a farce to underplay, ignore, and further endanger all students who are not white, cisgender, heterosexual, able, and/or from conservative roots. If the current administration really cared about protecting all students, then they wouldn't be so furiously fighting against the policies that would do just that. Instead they are using a real issues of rape and ignorance to forgo on policies that would ensure gender protections, protections for the BIPOC community, protections for LGBTQ+ community, and protections for people with disabilities. Bigotry has no place in today's world, or today's schools."}">All Students need protection, a true statement that is being used much like "all lives matter," a farce to underplay, ignore, and further endanger all students who are not white, cisgender, heterosexual, able, and/or from conservative roots. If the current administration really cared about protecting all students, then they wouldn't be so furiously fighting against the policies that would do just that. Instead they are using a real issues of rape and ignorance to forgo on policies that would ensure gender protections, protections for the BIPOC community, protections for LGBTQ+ community, and protections for people with disabilities. Bigotry has no place in today's world, or today's schools.


In support of this policy

This new policy proposal is an idea that can impact in a positive manner to our educational system in VA. In our sensitive society where any type of disapproval of topics that are controversial can get a person in trouble, especially if we want to discuss wether parents should have full responsibility of the child in matters of transgender identity, it is very problematic only because we want to make it problematic. Why would I not want my parents, who brought me to life, to be part of my life in decisions of identity. For me this policy makes sense it is simple is not trying to restrict anyone of their freedom, it only brings you more freedom, the relationship in a family is extremely important for our society to survive and flourish,  but if we want to break this relationship between parents and their children we encounter ourselves with conditions of total confusion and anger we become enemies in our own families it makes us suffer and everyone around us. I’m 18 years old from the town of Manassas, I went to public school there and I have been a witnessed to the deprivation of children at any grade level in the school I went, friends of mine that have been totally changed in just a few months and I wonder still where did my friends go? Getting into awful problems having identity crisis and seeing how they all loose hope…I have been bless to have a family that is United, and that supports me in any need I have even when the money is not there. My relationship with my parents have been taken care so well that I feel free and I have hope that one day this country will overcome all this lies that we want to believe as truth and I believe that this policy which gives the opportunity to bring  parents into the their kids life can only help to our country but for sure our own communities here in VA and specially in the beautiful town of Manassas VA. I 100% support this policy the Youngkin’s administration has proposed.

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This new policy proposal is an idea that can impact in a positive manner to our educational system in VA. In our sensitive society where any type of disapproval of topics that are controversial can get a person in trouble, especially if we want to discuss wether parents should have full responsibility of the child in matters of transgender identity, it is very problematic only because we want to make it problematic. Why would I not want my parents, who brought me to life, to be part of my life in decisions of identity. For me this policy makes sense it is simple is not trying to restrict anyone of their freedom, it only brings you more freedom, the relationship in a family is extremely important for our society to survive and flourish,  but if we want to break this relationship between parents and their children we encounter ourselves with conditions of total confusion and anger we become enemies in our own families it makes us suffer and everyone around us. I’m 18 years old from the town of Manassas, I went to public school there and I have been a witnessed to the deprivation of children at any grade level in the school I went, friends of mine that have been totally changed in just a few months and I wonder still where did my friends go? Getting into awful problems having identity crisis and seeing how they all loose hope…
I have been bless to have a family that is United, and that supports me in any need I have even when the money is not there. My relationship with my parents have been taken care so well that I feel free and I have hope that one day this country will overcome all this lies that we want to believe as truth and I believe that this policy which gives the opportunity to bring  parents into the their kids life can only help to our country but for sure our own communities here in VA and specially in the beautiful town of Manassas VA. I 100% support this policy the Youngkin’s administration has proposed.


I OPPOSE the guidance

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Youngkin is trading the safety and security of trans children for votes.


As a teacher, I strongly oppose this bill.

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<p>As a parent and a teacher of over 20 years, I strongly suppose this bill. </p>


Oppose

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Do not overturn the 2021 position on LGBTQ school practices. Students don't care! Using names works just fine if using pronouns is difficult.


Oppose

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"I OPPOSE the guidance. As a non-binary person with a non-binary child, I am appalled that Virginia’s elected officials are even talking about taking these steps backward. This is one of the reasons my husband and I choose to homeschool our children. If elected officials are willing to attack our community then that amplifies other voices of the the people wanting to attack us! People have the right to choose what gender they are and the only people who get hurt by silencing our truths are us. Suicide rates are higher when people aren’t able to express who they are. Do better!"}'>I OPPOSE the guidance. As a non-binary person with a non-binary child, I am appalled that Virginia’s elected officials are even talking about taking these steps backward. This is one of the reasons my husband and I choose to homeschool our children. If elected officials are willing to attack our community then that amplifies other voices of the the people wanting to attack us! People have the right to choose what gender they are and the only people who get hurt by silencing our truths are us. Suicide rates are higher when people aren’t able to express who they are. Do better!


It's natural to support this. It's needed to return to normalcy.

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It's only natural that parents ought to have a say in the upbringing of their children. The fact that certain parties have been hijacking the governmental mechanisms to promote their particular social agenda has been alarming. The removal of the 2021 model policies is a relief from this hypocritical oppression.

I applaud the VDE for doing this. It's needed to return the relationships regarding the rights and duties of parents for the education and upbringing of their children back to normal, and allows for a meaningful cooperation between parents, the community, and the government.

Thank you.


Oppose

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"I fully oppose the governor's proposed model school policy on transgender and nonbinary youth. This policy will cause direct harm to children who are more likely to feel unwelcome at school, be bullied by their peers, and may have negative consequences by being forced to come out to family members. Suicide rates among transgender youth are already far higher than among the population of large and this policy will make that even worse. Please be on the side of children."}">I fully oppose the governor's proposed model school policy on transgender and nonbinary youth. This policy will cause direct harm to children who are more likely to feel unwelcome at school, be bullied by their peers, and may have negative consequences by being forced to come out to family members. Suicide rates among transgender youth are already far higher than among the population of large and this policy will make that even worse. Please be on the side of children.


Oppose

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My child is trans. He deserves to feel as valued and safe as any other.


Oppose

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"I am on the non-binary spectrum and planning to begin gender-affirming therapy when I move out, since my parents are extremely gender-critical, claiming that transgender people are unnatural and even going as far as \"men and women are somewhat of a different species\" and \"boys can't be se//ually abused\". \nAt school, I feel more safe to embrace my desired gender identity. My writing teacher in particular is extremely supportive when I mentioned my plans to appear more masculine in the future. He is okay that I'm unsure of a solid pronoun change (from she to he), but he knows I use she/they/he. For him to be forced to tell my parents such a thing would be a nightmare. They'd most likely want me out of their house earlier, or send me to conversion therapy. \nTransgender and non-binary people have been harmless to society, but they are treated like intercourse-hungry monsters, and I will not stand for it. I oppose these new trans policies."}">I am on the non-binary spectrum and planning to begin gender-affirming therapy when I move out, since my parents are extremely gender-critical, claiming that transgender people are unnatural and even going as far as "men and women are somewhat of a different species" and "boys can't be se//ually abused".
At school, I feel more safe to embrace my desired gender identity. My writing teacher in particular is extremely supportive when I mentioned my plans to appear more masculine in the future. He is okay that I'm unsure of a solid pronoun change (from she to he), but he knows I use she/they/he. For him to be forced to tell my parents such a thing would be a nightmare. They'd most likely want me out of their house earlier, or send me to conversion therapy.
Transgender and non-binary people have been harmless to society, but they are treated like intercourse-hungry monsters, and I will not stand for it. I oppose these new trans policies.


Oppose

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"I oppose the guidance. As an educator I work and see these children daily. I promote my room as a safe space to allow these children a place to be themselves while also seeking education. Trans-individuals and especially BIPOC trans-individuals have the right to identify in anyway they desire and, it is, and should not be, up the government to determine their value. We should be lifting these students up not ripping them down."}'>I oppose the guidance. As an educator I work and see these children daily. I promote my room as a safe space to allow these children a place to be themselves while also seeking education. Trans-individuals and especially BIPOC trans-individuals have the right to identify in anyway they desire and, it is, and should not be, up the government to determine their value. We should be lifting these students up not ripping them down.


Oppose

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i don’t support this because everyone has a place in the classroom and if you’re so pro life you’ll value the lives of these children as well


Oppose

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Our children deserve the right to decide who they are. They deserve our live and support. I strongly oppose this measure


I fully oppose the proposed model school policy because it will harm children

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"I fully oppose the governor's proposed model school policy on transgender and nonbinary youth. This policy will cause direct harm to children who are more likely to feel unwelcome at school, be bullied by their peers, and may have negative consequences by being forced to come out to family members. Suicide rates among transgender youth are already far higher than among the population of large and this policy will make that even worse. Please stop trying to win political points at the expense of vulnerable children."}">I fully oppose the governor's proposed model school policy on transgender and nonbinary youth. This policy will cause direct harm to children who are more likely to feel unwelcome at school, be bullied by their peers, and may have negative consequences by being forced to come out to family members. Suicide rates among transgender youth are already far higher than among the population of large and this policy will make that even worse. Please stop trying to win political points at the expense of vulnerable children.


Oppose

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This legislation is created to discriminate against children who are trying to live comfortably and safely.


I oppose this guidance

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Protect our youth and don’t promote hate


The kids are not alright and public school is not home school

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The kids are not alright.  They need help, support, acceptance and love.   They don’t need the judgement of parents or government officials that have no idea what is going on in VA schools.  If you are a parent that is claiming they want “control” home school your kid.  In public education we service all students.  Even those you don’t agree with for your bigoted reasons.  This new regulation will harm children across the commonwealth and the blood will be on Glenn’s hands.  I plead with the DOE to not allow this to happen.  This has nothing to do with parents having control and everything to do with Christian ideology that’s not welcomed in our schools.


I Oppose

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I oppose the guidance. Protect Trans youth!!!


Parental Rights Ought to be Protected in the Public Square

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<p>I am a parent. My children went through both public and private schools. I was also a public school teacher and private school substitute teacher. I have been on both sides of the school table and feel teachers should be sharing information about what they see at school WITH the parent(s) NOT HIDING INFO. Parents love their children and want the best for them. Yes, there are rare cases where parents don't work for the good of their child(ren) but these are few cases. Schools (teachers, administrators & staff) should be consulting with the parent(s) when EVER the child needs more support. I cared about my classroom students BUT I DID NOT LOVE THEM LIKE MY OWN CHILDREN. My children are in college now. If they were in K-12 right now, I would be homeschooling them because what I see and hear about public schools at the present -- makes me not trust the public school system. We need to rebuild that trust by working WITH parents/guardians for the best of their children. </p>


I and countless individuals strongly oppose the proposed rule

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It has been shown that allowing students to use restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity is just one of a host of school policies that have been shown to improve the

educational experiences of transgender, gender nonconforming, and cisgender students.

In schools with policies that explicitly prohibit anti-LGBTQ bullying, students have

better relationships with staff and as a result feel safer in the school. When transgender students are respected, they are able to engage fully and equitably with the educational experience, and when that happens, transgender students, like all students, are able to thrive.


Opposed to oppression

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<p>Trans kids deserve safety, fair treatment and respect. </p>


In Support of the 2022 Model Policies

Alex Nester, Parents Defending Education

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Dear Superintendent Balow and the Virginia Board of Education:

PDE Action writes in support of the 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect of All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools. As a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to reclaim schools from political activism, we believe that parents’ rights and parental involvement in education is vital to the health and wellbeing of America’s children.

Former Governor Ralph Northam’s 2021 Model Policies on the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia Public Schools contradicted existing state law, specifically Virginia Code 1-240.1. This code states that parents have “a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care” of their children. The 2021 Model Policies flew in the face of that law and explicitly said: “There are no regulations requiring school staff to notify a parent or guardian of a student’s request to affirm their gender identity, and school staff should work with students to help them share the information with their family when they are ready to do so.”

It is immoral and dangerous to exclude parents from personal conversations regarding their child’s mental health and wellbeing. This includes when a child decides to live as another sex.

Parents have a right under Virginia Code 1-240.1 to know what their child’s school teaches about “gender identity,” as well as the school’s policies for handling a child’s decision to transition. As the board suggests with the 2022 Model Policies, parents must be informed of, and included in, all conversations between their school psychologists, counselors, or other staff and their child. This includes, but is not limited to, conversations about a child’s sexuality and “gender identity.”

Your updated policies reflect this important truth. At the same time, they uphold the dignity of all students in Virginia’s schools—regardless of their decision to adopt a new “gender identity.” PDE Action found many elements of the 2022 Model Policies compelling. The policies affirm the importance of “efforts to protect and encourage respect for all students,” and at the same time, “fully acknowledge the rights of parents to exercise their fundamental rights…”

The 2022 Model Policies state: “[t]he word sex means biological sex.” It is imperative, given the Biden Administration’s attempt to expand the definition of biological sex to include “gender identity,” that school policies uphold this fundamental truth and ensure that biological sex trumps “gender identity” in matters of separating spaces—sports teams, restrooms, bedrooms on overnight field trips—for males and females.

The 2022 Model Policies ensure that parents are responsible for making the final decision on a child’s name and pronouns, and that school staff and students are not compelled to speak in a way that is inconsistent with their moral or religious beliefs. It is critical to protect this First Amendment right.

PDE Action requests, as a matter of prudent policymaking, that you address the following items, and, if necessary, provide further explanation or definition.

In addition to the requirements already prescribed under Appendix A, Part III., Section C., Subsection 1-2, would, or should, a medical diagnosis be required for a school to change a student’s name and/or pronouns?

Under III. Terminology, PDE Action suggests adding a definition of “gender identity” that 1. defines its use in the context of this draft and 2. ensures that biological sex is upheld as a scientific truth that supersedes “gender” or “gender identity.”

Appendix A, Part III., Section G., Subsection 2. It is unclear what you attempt to prescribe by noting that “students are not required to dress in a gender-neutral manner.” Surely, schools may at the same time create separate dress code policies for males and females while at the same time ensuring that there is no disparate impact on either sex. For example, a school dress code might allow females to wear skirts and males to wear shorts during warmer months, but length requirements for garments should be the same for both sexes.

PDE Action sincerely appreciates your willingness to affirm the rights of Virginia parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children.

Sincerely,

Alex Nester

Political Director, PDE Action


Legislators=High School Bullies

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Close minded policies and laws that attack such a small population are ridiculous.  Growing up in an era where Trans Individuals were attacked on multiple fronts, I am proud to say I survived.  Politicians pushing legislation such as this create the same environment individuals such as myself have had to endure our entire life's.  The same people making these laws spent a lifetime bullying others.  Let children live a childhood full of understanding and acceptance and they will grow up to be amazing citizens.  I am a survivor; I got a second chance at life and chose to live unapologetically as myself.  More than just a trans individual, I am a parent, I am a spouse, I am someone's child and grandchild.


Strongly Oppose

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<p>Why does the government we keep inventing new ways to strip rights away from people it is designed to help and protect!? Children have it hard enough these days they don't need new laws put in place to tell them how to be.  Please please please show some human decency and do not pass this bill. </p>


Support gov

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I Strongly support the governors Policy


TO HELL WITH THIS ANTI-FREEDOM, HATEFUL, VILE BILL

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This bill is nothing more or less than anti-freedom and grotesque. Gov. Youngkin, that senile scoundrel, does NOT care about the children of Virginina. Otherwise, he wouldn't be championing these hateful bills that target trans and LGBTQ kids. They are already under threat enough as it is.

In 2022, 50% of LGBTQ youth aged 13 to 17, and 37% aged 18 to 24, strongly considered suicide. 18% of youth aged 13 to 17 attempted, as well as 8% aged 18 to 24.

6% of LGBTQ youth overall reported being physically harmed or threatened—31% due to their sexual orientation, while 37% due to their gender identity. 40% were gay, 30% were lesibian, 26% were bisexual, 36% were pansexual, 27% were questioning, and 24% were asexual. 55% of transgender men/boys reported being physically threatened or harmed because of their gender identity. 47% were transgender women/girls, and 32% were nonbinary.

DESPITE these numbers, Gov. Youngkin still insists inflicting harm on these kids.

Why does Gov. Youngkin hate these children, who've done absolutely NOTHING to earn this vile hatred they receive from malicious scumbags like him? Why does Youngkin preach freedom one day and attack the freedom of others the next? It's simple: Youngkin is power-hungry hypocrite. You wonder why he's been traveling to early presidential election states as of late. He doesn't care about anyone but himself.

So to HELL with this anti-freedom, hateful, vile bill. If you support Youngkin's disgusting policies and hate towards trans kids, it is an undebatable and undeniable fact that you are anti-freedom, and a hypocrite.


Gov Youngkin's removal of protections for trans and nonbinary students

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I OPPOSE the guidance, that Governor Youngkin is promoting for schools that are a form of harassment, or discrimination against Trans and nonbinary youth.


support

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<p>"Trans rights" should not take away from my child's right to be safe in the bathroom. Did we not learn anything from Louden County? I fully support and applaud Youngkins decision. Let's get back to reading and math in schools and leave this drama behind. </p>


POWER TO PARENTS


Oppose.

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Oppose this transphobic guidance!


Education

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Strongly support this document


Oppose Christian Nationalism

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Copied from someone else:

These policies take away the freedoms of transgendered children, while stoking the flames of transphobia. We are not all Christian nationalists. Quit forcing your shortsighted,  bigoted policies on all of us. You are a disgrace- the worst governor ever. The only freedoms you care about are those of straight, white, “Christian” men!

oppose oppose oppose.


it is a sickness

Parents know their children’s needs better than anyone. If children are struggling with gender dysphoria, they need guidance and emotional support from parents. Under the new policies, school officials must keep parents fully informed, and require schools to enforce laws, regulations and policies that prohibit and deter bullying or harassment.Radical Gender ideology is a sickness and we do not want it.

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Parents know their children’s needs better than anyone. If children are struggling with gender dysphoria, they need guidance and emotional support from parents. Under the new policies, school officials must keep parents fully informed, and require schools to enforce laws, regulations and policies that prohibit and deter bullying or harassment.

Radical Gender ideology is a sickness and we do not want it.


Love is doing what is best for the other.

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We cannot say we love and support someone while at the same time leading them down the wrong path. You do not love an addict by giving them more drugs, or an alcoholic by giving them more alcohol. You cannot love a child by encouraging them to make decisions that are way beyond what they are capable of making, especially ones that have lifelong consequences. You do not love children by exposing them to subjects they do not yet have the maturity to process. Children need to be given time to be children, while they actually are children. Schools should concentrate on teaching academics, and get us back to excellence. A college professor more than 30 years ago had us studying about the educational systems of other countries. He was so concerned about where we were headed, and predicted those other countries would surpass us. I'm afraid he was correct. Let's get back to the basics, and let parents parent, and those who are not, step up!


Reject this flawed and dangerous proposal

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<p>I hope that everyone who is commenting has read both the 2021 and 2022 Model Policies in their entirety before forming their opinion.  The comparison is striking, and alarming.  The 2021 policy is research based and written by a committee of 34, listed in the "Acknowledements" (pp 3-4), and representing a broad diversity of experience and expertise.  The 2022 proposed document was prepared by anonymous individuals within the Department of Education, and it ignores significant conclusions of peer reviewed research reports that were cited in the previous policy.  Whereas the 2021 document provides local school boards with comprehensive model policies, including options for resolving differences of opinion, the 2022 version's guidelines are vague, and will leave local school boards susceptible to lawsuits if they incorrectly interpret this unclear guidance.  Most dangerous of all, this new proposed document is based on the flawed assumption that every parent understands and knows what is best for their child in every way, and it places the burden of decision making primarily on the shoulders of the parent.  It is a rare parent who has not had their child tell them, "you just don't understand me."  Who among us can truly walk in the shoes of another individual?  Adolescence is a time of experimentation and self-discovery.  Can anyone know if they are meant to be a piano player without trying to play the piano, or if they are meant to be a ball player if they never touch a ball?  Why should one's sexual identity be any different?  Experimentation at this age is natural; parental and/or societal condemnation for this experimentation can be devastating.  This new model is a potential death warrant for many children whose parents truly do not understand them, and a potential source of life-long guilt for parents whose children are harmed because they did not know their own child as well as they thought, and who made wrong choices as a result.  The 2021 model affords opportunities for parents, educators, and other professionals to work TOGETHER to determine and implement procedures that are best for each indvidual child.  Do NOT replace it with this travesty of a revision. </p>


New slogan: Virginia is for transphobics!!

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Republicans continue to strip away basic freedoms, and this is just another example. Think beyond white, “Christian” men, and find some compassion for all. These are bullying and hateful policies that are a disgrace to a large amount of Virginians. Cannot wait until you are out of office, and there is a return to basic human decency!!

I was taught that we were all made in the image and likeness of God.


THESE MODEL POLICIES ARE YET ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO FORCE CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM ON ALL OF US!

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These policies take away the freedoms of transgendered children, while stoking the flames of transphobia. We are not all Christian nationalists. Quit forcing your shortsighted,  bigoted policies on all of us. You are a disgrace- the worst governor ever. The only freedoms you care about are those of straight, white, “Christian” men!


I could not be more opposed to this!

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<p>This is just plain meanness against something our governor doesn't fully understand.  This will undoubtedly cost the lives of young people.  </p>


OPPOSE! OPPOSE!!!!!

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What basis do you have to overrule all of the major psychological associations that have designed standards of care for trans minors over the last several decades?


I STRONGLY OPPOSE THE GUIDANCE

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<p>I STRONGLY OPPOSE the guidance. Trans and non binary lives matter. Leave our children alone and let them  be WHO they are. Period! Hate has no home in our schools. Consider the outcome of this action as it can be potentially harmful in so many ways to our youth. </p>


Not all of us want to be forced to live as “Christians”!!

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From WAPO:

Contrary to statements that suggest otherwise, the 2022 model policies do impose a specific ideology. Christian nationalism is not relegated to churches, extremist groups or religious-political leaders; it exerts control and fosters political violence through public policies and institutions that seek to exterminate non-White, non-Christian, and non-heteropatriarchal thought from the nation.


Strongly Support the New Guidelines

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Strongly Support the New Guidelines


Support Younkin stopping education transgender policy mandates;Restore parental rights & 1st Amende

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<p>I strongly support Gov. Younkin's proposed 2022 Model Policy for a pro-parent plan to change the stupid VA Dept of Education transgender policy mandates on public schools and to replace them with regulations which restore parental rights and protect our First Amendment rights of both students and staff.  </p>


This is a terrible policy decision.

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This is a terrible policy decision.


Appreciate Govenor Youngkin protecting our children and parents rights

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Please pass 2022 model policies


STRONGLY SUPPORT - Stop pitting children against their parents!

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Schools DO NOT have the right to override parental rights over their own children. It is beyond unacceptable for a school to deceive and hide critical information about what is happening at school with a child. Would the school hide from parents information about their grades or their behavior or being bullied or being sick at school?? This is not about  not caring about transgender students, this is about pitting children against their parents, setting barriers between them. Instead of partnering with parents to educate these precious children the school is setting itself up as an advesary to parents. We are entrusting our most precious gifts to the school and in return you are teaching them that their parents are their enemy because they don't agree with them. It is very simple: PARENTS HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH OUR CHILDREN. You do not own our children!


strongly oppose

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I strongly oppose the guidance. It’s just intentionally cruel and hurtful.


Oppose

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<p>I strongly oppose the model policy proposed by Governor Youngkin. This proposed policy is rooted in transphobia. By seeking to erase transgender and non-binary youth in Virginia classrooms, this policy will irrevocably harm transgender and non-binary students. </p>


Extremely supportive

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<p>Parents are key in raising their children. Don't take away their rights as parents. </p>


Parent in support of Parent's Rights

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As a parent with children in public schools, I support the proposed model guidance. Schools should not be deciding how a child should be cared for, that is up to the parent. While some parents do not support transgendered students, others do not support their children focusing on arts or music or English. Will we take away these parents rights as well? Additionally, the idea that this will increase suicides or that this policy will be harmful to students are based on a lie. Research does not show that medical gender transition is necessary to prevent suicide and there is evidence that medical transition procedures may increase suicide risk in gender-confused teens. Dhejne found that ten years after sex reassignment surgery, the transgender patients were 19 times more likely to die from suicide than the typical Swedish population, after accounting for differences in individual mental illness before surgery. Bauer found in 2015 that  being in the process of cross-sex medical treatment was associated with a three-fold increase in actual suicide attempts. A 2022 study by Briggs found that use of cross-sex hormones significantly increased suicidality (nearly two-fold) for biological males receiving estrogen—increases in Suicidal Thoughts with Plan, Suicide Attempt, and Suicide Attempt Requiring Hospitalization—when the effects were analyzed separately for biological males compared to females. Another study from the same researcher found no difference in the suicide rate for those who had not yet received treatment and those who had received treatment (puberty blockers and/or cross-sex hormones). So how does cutting parents out of their children's lives make any sense? Studies have shown that family-based interventions lowers the long-term suicide risk in youth.

I agree that transgender students deserve respect and a bathroom they are comfortable using. But that shouldn't come at the expense of other children being comfortable or parents having the ability to parent their children.


Support

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<p>Definitely support proposed policies. </p>


Support the 2022 guidance

Governor Youngkin's proposed guidance recognizes the primary moral and legal responsibility of parents for their children.  It cites all relevant and applicable federal and state law, unlike the 2021 guidance.  The 2022 guidance protects children from bullying and harassment in school and correctly notes that state law protects children from parental abuse and neglect.  It also ensures that girls may participate in sports without having to compete with (biological) boys.Ignoring the primary role of parents in their childrens' upbringing violates well-established law and precedent.  It substitutes the state's judgment for that of parents and effectively makes transgender children wards of the state without due process of law.  The 2022 guidance restores the proper relationship between state government, public schools, parents, and schoolchildren.

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Governor Youngkin's proposed guidance recognizes the primary moral and legal responsibility of parents for their children.  It cites all relevant and applicable federal and state law, unlike the 2021 guidance.  The 2022 guidance protects children from bullying and harassment in school and correctly notes that state law protects children from parental abuse and neglect.  It also ensures that girls may participate in sports without having to compete with (biological) boys.

Ignoring the primary role of parents in their childrens' upbringing violates well-established law and precedent.  It substitutes the state's judgment for that of parents and effectively makes transgender children wards of the state without due process of law.  The 2022 guidance restores the proper relationship between state government, public schools, parents, and schoolchildren.


Strongly oppose

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I strongly oppose the 2022 proposed model policy because it is rooted in transphobia and will further harm trans and nonbinary children. We should be protecting transgender and nonbinary students from bullying, harassment, and discrimination in schools by creating inclusive and affirming learning environments. Trans affirming school policy matters to me because it will help to foster an environment where every child feels safe.


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I support parental rights. I support biology. I support Governor Youngkin. I support common sense. I support a biological female's right to privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms. I support a biological female athlete's right to participate in sports and to compete against other biological females.


Opposed - This policy would harm transgender youth

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The proposed 2022 Model Policies would harm transgender youth, and thus, should be opposed.

Transgender and gender diverse youth often face much higher percentages of depression and suicidal ideation than their cisgender peers due to discrimination and lack of support, are more likely to drop out of school due to harassment, and need strong community support to help protect against discrimination. When a transgender student can be themselves without fear of discrimination or harassment, and when they have supportive friends and adults in their lives, they can thrive. Students are more likely to be confident, have reduced issues with depression, and are less likely to make a suicide attempt.

However, the proposed 2022 Model Policy would forcibly remove school community support from the lives of these youth.

The problem with deferring to parents regarding a child's pronouns or gender, is that there are parents who refuse to acknowledge scientific facts and will continue to misgender their child. Being misgendered, and the inability to transition (which can include social transitioning as well as medical transitioning) can lead to increased depression, suicidal ideation, and self-harm.

But being supportive of social transitioning (specifically by recognizing a child's gender identity and using their requested pronouns) can have remarkable results in reducing depression and anxiety. In a 2017 article, "Mental Health and Self-Worth in Socially Transitioned Transgender Youth," researchers found that socially transitioned children reported depression levels that matched their cisgender counterparts, and only had slightly increased rates of anxiety compared to their peers from previous studies who were unable to transition.

Respecting a person's pronouns is a remarkably easy way to be supportive of these students, with potentially incredible results. Schools often ask what a child's name is, and if they use a nickname, that's not an issue. Why should using the requested pronouns be any different?

Furthermore, there are problems in the definitions this legislation proposes. On Page 5 (V. Development. Section C) it says "Practices such as compelling others to use preferred pronouns is premised on the ideological belief that gender is a matter of personal choice or subjective experience, not sex."

This is inaccurate, as gender identity being separate from sex is not based on a matter of personal choice. This is not an ideological belief. This has been shown in multiple scientific studies.

A literature review in Neuropsychopharmacol (2019), titled "What has sex got to do with it? The role of hormones in the transgender brain" found multiple studies that showed, for transgender participants, the structure of their brains more closely matched that of their cisgender counterparts (a trans woman had a brain more closely matching that of a cisgender woman, and a trans man had a brain more closely matching that of a cisgender man), and that the results of cognitive tasks with a sex-based bias also matched more closely with their cisgender counterparts.

Gender identity is not a choice, and refusing to use an individual's requested pronouns is a matter of discrimination, rather than a protection of beliefs. A transgender student is transgender whether their parent believes they are or not. By refusing to acknowledge their gender identity, the environment is hostile for that student, and could, at best, reduce the student's ability to learn in school, and at worse, cause an increase in depression, suicidal ideation, and self-harm.

According to the article , "Supporting Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth: Protection Against Emotional Distress and Substance Use" (2018), transgender and gender diverse youth "...are more likely to miss school than their cisgender peers as a result of harassment."

Hostile environments result in less effective learning.

The article goes on to suggest that "...feeling safe at school protected against depression and suicidality..." which is especially important given that the article also reports that, out of a study of 2,168 transgender and gender diverse students, 44.9% of those students reported suicidal ideation, and 16.7% reported a suicide attempt.

This is terribly high.

Consider that the CDC reported in 2020 that the percentage of high school students reporting suicidal ideation in 2019 was 18.8%, with 8.9% having reported a suicide attempt, the percentage is over double that for transgender students with suicidal ideation, and nearly double that of suicide attempts.

We must do what we can to improve the mental health of transgender youth, not cause further stigmatization. Having a safe, supportive environment is important to reducing both suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.

As the 2018 "Supporting Transgender and Gender Diverse..." article says, " ...relationships with non-parental adult relatives, friends, and adults in one's community may compensate for less accepting parent–child relationships by providing support." If a child is in a less-supportive family environment, then non-parental adults who are supportive at school may help to protect against negative effects.

Yet the currently proposed 2022 model would make it illegal for teachers and staff to be supportive of these students.

The sample policy it offers on page 14 (II. Definitions Section C) that suggests specifying that being a "transgender student" is reliant on a parent having requested in writing that this is their identity, neglects the reality that being transgender is not a choice, and reinforces the environment coming from an unsupportive parent.

On page 10, (VII. Resources), it says "that parental involvement in a child’s education and development is paramount." However, this only works in so far that the parental involvement is supportive of the child, and this includes recognition of their gender identity.

From the 2018 "Supporting Transgender and Gender Diverse..." article, "Greater connectedness with parents is associated with decreased risk of depression and suicidality, and greater levels of life satisfaction, self-esteem, and resilience for [transgender and gender diverse] youth. When [transgender and gender diverse] youth are supported by parents in their gender identity, disparities in emotional distress are reduced or eliminated."

The students who had decreased risk of depression and suicidality were supported by their parents in their gender identity.

Instead of requiring schools to misgender students if their parents refuse to recognize them, schools should be supportive of their students, respect their pronouns, ensure safe bathroom access, and focus on outreach programs that help parents understand how to be supportive of their child, whether or not they are transgender.

For those reasons, the proposed 2022 Model Policies should be opposed.

Sources:

1. Mental Health and Self-Worth in Socially Transitioned Transgender Youth (J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 2017)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5302003/

2. What has sex got to do with it? The role of hormones in the transgender brain (Neuropsychopharmacol , 2019)

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-018-0140-7

3. Supporting Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth: Protection Against Emotional Distress and Substance Use (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2018)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30344037/

4. Suicidal Ideation and Behaviors Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2019 (CDC, August 2022)

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/su/su6901a6.htm

5. The 2022 Model Policies Proposal

https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/Comments.cfm?GdocForumID=1953

https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/GetFile.cfm?File=C:\TownHall\docroot\GuidanceDocs_Proposed\201\GDoc_DOE_6284_20220915.pdf

For an overview of useful information, I recommend reading:

Risk and Resilience Factors for Mental Health among Transgender and Gender Nonconforming (TGNC) Youth: A Systematic Review (2021)

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10567-021-00344-6


I very much support the new policies that honor the role of parents in the care of their children

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These policies relate to what the children learn in school, athletics, and any other activities their children may have.  The family is important in and of itself, and the parents know more about their children than any outside organization can possibly know.

If the children have any problems concerning their gender, their parents are the people that they should confide in.  The parents are there to provide guidance and support.

As to bathrooms, children should use bathrooms determined by their sex, biological sex.   If there are those children who feel they are not the sex that biology has given them, then there should be a separate facility for them.

Children's fundamental religious rights need to be protected.


Kat Grant, Equal Justice Works Fellow, Freedom From Religion Foundation

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October 25, 2022

Submitted Electronically

Virginia Board of Education

Virginia Department of Education

PO Box 2120

Richmond, VA 23218

Re: Comments regarding the 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools

Dear Members of the Virginia Board of Education:

I am writing on behalf of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) regarding the proposed Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools (Model Policies). FFRF is a national nonprofit organization with more than 38,000 members across the country, including more than 800 members in Virginia. FFRF works to defend the constitutional separation between state and church, and educates about nontheism. Our membership numbers reflect that almost 12.5 percent consider themselves to be part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

FFRF is strongly opposed to the Department’s updated model policies for how Virginia Public Schools should work with transgender students. Much of the prejudice, discrimination, and violence faced by transgender people is tied to religious belief, (1) and these policies clearly privilege a religious perspective over the rights, health, safety, and dignity of Virginia school children.

Our scientific understanding of gender is still developing, however the growing consensus across a number of different scientific fields of study, including biology (2) and psychiatry, (3) is that transgender identities are a naturally occurring part of human diversity. Major health organizations including the World Health Organization (4) and the American Medical Association (5) agree. The Model Policies, however, fail to reflect that evolving understanding in favor of making a predominantly religious understanding of gender (6) the default belief. This choice underlies each and every section of the Model Policies, starting with how terms such as “sex” and “transgender student” are defined, to requiring that students use bathrooms and play on sports teams that reflect their assigned sex at birth, to when and under what conditions transgender children are allowed to have their identities respected.

Using certain religious understandings of gender as a framework to construct the Model Policies sends the message that there is a default set of orthodoxy, predicated on certain religious beliefs, that all Virginians are expected to adhere to, above all other beliefs, viewpoints and scientific facts.

While the stated goal of parental involvement in children’s lives and education is an admirable one, the reality is that transgender students are at a unique risk for harm if they are outed to their families without their consent. There is a well established body of research showing that parental rejection of transgender youth has a direct connection to an increased risk of depression, anxiety, suicide, drug use, as well as contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. (7) Additionally, LGBTQIA+ students are at a significantly increased risk for violence and homelessness, much of which is directly connected to familial rejection. (8) Though not all families will harm or shun their children for being transgender, many will. A blanket policy of outing students with no opportunity for a case-by-case evaluation of whether it is actually safe to do so will have long-term, permanent negative consequences for many Virginia schoolchildren.

For similar reasons, requiring that transgender children have written parental permission for their identities to be respected is dangerous and irresponsible. Furthermore, it substantially burdens families whose religious and ideological beliefs do not direct them to reject their transgender children.

The Model Policies effectively create a hostile environment where it is nearly impossible for a child to actually explore and self-evaluate their gender identity. Children in the United States spend, on average, 6.8 hours a day in school, not including after-school activities. (9) School dominates children’s lives. It’s where they make friends and develop an understanding of both themselves and the world around them. How is a child supposed to develop the prerequisite “persistant and sincere belief” that they are transgender that the Model Policies demand if they are not able to express themselves for the majority of their waking hours? Under the Model Policies, gender affirming families would have to provide a potentially impossible level of documentation in order to have their parenting decisions respected, while other families do not have to justify their beliefs. Even if a family is able to overcome this burden, the Model Policies still permit school personnel to disregard their parenting choices.

The section of the policy that would permit teachers an exemption from respecting their students’ name and pronouns on the basis of religious belief is particularly troubling. Though the wording of the policy itself is vague—only stating that schools “shall not compel [School Division] personnel … to address or refer to students in any manner that would violate their constitutionally protected rights,” (10) the Board of Education clearly intends for this to mean that schools must allow teachers to misgender their students on the basis of religious belief.

This portion of the Model Policies appears to hinge on two cases: Loudoun Cnty v. Byron Tanner Cross and Meriwether v. Hartop. Justifying the Model Policies with these cases implies that it is firmly settled law that any policy directing an educator to use a child’s self-identified name and pronouns regardless of their personal religious or ideological beliefs is unconstitutional. This, however, mischaracterizes the impact of these cases.

The Loudon Cnty. case did not even involve a fully formed and executed policy. The speech at issue was a teacher’s public statement at a school board meeting discussing a policy requiring teachers to respect transgender children’s names and pronouns, where he voiced his opposition to the policy. That is clearly distinct from a situation in which a teacher actively refused to follow an existing policy. Similarly, in Meriwether, the Sixth Circuit did not determine whether the university’s policy and its application violated Professor Meriwether’s First Amendment rights; they only stated that he made a plausible enough case to survive a motion to dismiss. That is not equivalent to saying the policy was unconstitutional. In its application of these cases, the Department stretches the law beyond what it actually says.

It is both disingenuous and irresponsible to use these cases to set policy as if this is clearly settled law—especially in the context of K-12 schools where the risk of harm and coercion is so high. In its many public school First Amendment cases, the Supreme Court has consistently emphasized that K-12 students are particularly vulnerable to religious coercion, and therefore require a heightened level of protection. We do not allow teachers to force their religious beliefs onto students during the school day in any other context, specifically due to the influence and power schools hold in the lives of students, who are a captive audience. Until these issues are settled law, the Virginia Department of Education has a responsibility to set policy in a way that best protects the already well established rights of schoolchildren.

FFRF strongly opposes the proposed Model Policies, and urges the Virginia Department of Education to create policies that focus on protecting vulnerable students, rather than privileging religious viewpoints at their expense.

References

 Michael Lipka & Patricia Tevington, Attitudes About Transgender Issues Vary Widely Among Christians, Religious ‘Nones’ in U.S., Pew Research Center (2022) https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/07/07/attitudes-about-transgender-issues-vary-widely-among-christians-religious-nones-in-u-s/.

See generally, Giancarlo Spizzirri et. al, Grey and white matter volumes either in treatment-naïve or hormone-treated transgender women: a voxel-based morphometry study, 8 Scientific Reports, art. 736 (2018); see also Baudewijntje P.C. Kreukels & Antonio Guillamon, Neuroimaging studies in people with gender incongruence, 28 Int’l. Rev. Psychiatry 120-128 (2016).

A Guide for Working With Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Patients: Definitions of Gender, Sex, and Sexual Orientation and Pronoun Usage, American Psychiatric Association https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/cultural-competency/transgender-and-gender-nonconforming-patients/definitions-and-pronoun-usage (last accessed October 5, 2022).

Gender and Health, World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/gender#tab=tab_1 (last accessed October 5, 2022).

Advocating for the LGBTQ community, American Medical Association https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/population-care/advocating-lgbtq-community (last accessed Oct. 5, 2022).

Michael Lipka & Patricia Tevington, Attitudes About Transgender Issues Vary Widely Among Christians, Religious ‘Nones’ in U.S., Pew Research Center (2022) https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/07/07/attitudes-about-transgender-issues-vary-widely-among-christians-religious-nones-in-u-s/.

See, Supportive Families, Healthy Children: Helping Families with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Children, The Family Acceptance Project, 5 (2009) https://dev-sfsu-familyproject.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/documents/FAP_English%20Booklet_pst.pdf. See also, Augustus Klien & Sarit A Golub, Family Rejection as a Predictor of Suicide Attempts and Substance Misuse Among Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Adults, 3 LGBT Health 193-9 (2016).

See generally, Alex Abramovich, Preventing, Reducing and Ending LGBTQ2S Youth Homelessness: The Need for Targeted Strategies, 4 Social Inclusion 86-96 (2016); Brandon Robinson, Conditional Families and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth Homelessness: Gender, Sexuality, Family Instability, and Rejection, 80 J. Marriage & Family 383-96 (2018). See also, Joseph G. Kosciw, Caitlin M. Clark, Nhan L. Truong, & Adrian D. Zongrone, The 2019 National Climate Survey: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth in Our Nation’s Schools, GLSEN (2020) https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/NSCS-2019-Full-Report_0.pdf.

Jennifer Craw, Statistic Of The Month: How Much Time Do Students Spend In School?, National Center on Education and the Economy (2018) https://ncee.org/quick-read/statistic-of-the-month-how-much-time-do-students-spend-in-school.

2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools, 16, Virginia Department of Education (2022) https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/GetFile.cfm?File=C:\TownHall\docroot\GuidanceDocs_Proposed\201\GDoc_DOE_6284_20220915.pdf.


STRONGLY OPPOSE!!

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From WAPO:

If these so-called Christians want their children to be raised with their religious beliefs, then they should homeschool them or send them to religious schools. However, they won’t do that because they don’t want to make the necessary sacrifices. They’re “Christian” enough to try to impose their beliefs on everyone else, but not enough to give up the money or the time necessary to pay tuition or homeschool.


Proposed model policies affecting trans youth

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As a parent of two, I strongly oppose the proposed model policies affecting trans youth.

Subjecting children to rejection due to their self-identity creates unnecessary emotional and psychological pain. No child should start of life feeling this way.

Also, these proposed policies put youth at risk of emotional and physical harm by presuming all transgender and non-binary youth have loving and supportive families. Sadly, that is not the case. Forcing a child to get documentation from their parents confirming that their gender differs from their sex assigned at birth could endanger those who live in households where they are not affirmed.

Why would we compromise the health and safety of any child enrolled in our public schools? Every school in Virginia should be a haven for every student, not another venue for discrimination and trauma. These proposed policies  hinder the ability of teachers and staff to offer any support, without also outing the student to parents.

Targeting some of the most vulnerable children in our schools  contributes to the already high number of LGBTQ+ students who attempt suicide.

For all these reasons, please reject these proposed policies.


Support 100%

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Pass 2022 policies to protect our girls in the locker room and no males on the girls team!


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I oppose this in the strongest possible manor.


I oppose this proposed guidance

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I am a Virginia voter and military spouse who has been away from. Irgun is for many years - I strongly oppose this proposed direction. This goes against evidence based best practices and would move Virginia backwards. Please oppose this guidance.


Gov Youngkin Overhaul of VADOE Policy Supporting Parents Rights

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I strongly support, without question, a parent's right to decide how their children should be educated.  Parents are the first to start teaching their children everything from manners, courtesy, respect, and reading, writing, and math.  It is vital that parents have an input on what and how their children are taught.  Parents need to know they are not turning their children over to questionable ideas imparted in an education system that thinks they should have the final say in what and how information is taught.  Parents attending school board meetings should never feel they are being scrutinized as dangerous because of voicing their concerns.

I support Gov Youngkin's move to put parents back into a major role in the education and upbringing of their children.


Strongly Oppose

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I strongly oppose Governor Youngkin's proposed 2022 model policies. Our LGBTQ student population deserves a learning environment that is supportive, and these policies would serve to prohibit support for these students, creating a potentially dangerous environment. These policies would remove basic rights of transgender students to be supported and addressed based on who they are.

Research clearly shows that the suicide risk is high among transgender individuals, and acknowledgement and acceptance of a transgender student's gender identity is shown to reduce that risk significantly. To give school staff the option to deny this acknowledgement is to deny the student their own basic rights and will statistically increase the rate of suicide in the school population. This is NOT an acceptable outcome.

Furthermore, requiring LGBTQ students to be "outed" to parents against their wishes could result in serious harm, and even death. There is an emphasis on "parental rights" throughout these model policies, but students also have the right to not be abused or neglected by their parents. There are transgender students in dire need of support available at school, and whose parents may be unsupportive, neglectful, or abusive. Forcing these students to be "outed" against their will is unacceptable and could be dangerous.

These policies should not be couched in language of "ideological beliefs," when the transgender experience is not one based in ideology, but rather physiology and psychology. It is a matter of healthcare, not philosophy. It is misguided to formulate these policies around protecting supposed "ideological beliefs" of those in the school envrionment instead of students' health and medical needs.

I urge every member of the Youngkin administration to meet and speak with a transgender or nonbinary individual, in order to more clearly understand why the 2021 model policies were appropriate and should be left in place.


Strongly Support! Let the parents be parents.

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Strongly Support! It’s protecting our kids.  Let the parents be parents. Thank you Gov. Youngkin


Gov. Youngkin's draft model policy on LGBTQI+ stuents

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I am strongly opposed to Gov. Youngkin's proposal on treatment of non-binary students. It is a bigoted response to situations he apparently does not understand or, if he understands, finds unacceptable. It appears that he does not understand their biology and is content to put them at the risk of misgendering, bullying and harassment with no system to hold the harassers accountable. The proposal gives them no access to sex-separated spaces matching their gender identity, as applies to bathroom use and sports teams participation. Further, the proposal allows that they could be outed to their parents by teachers without the student's consent.

This is all quite dangerous for the students' health, both physical and mental. It allows bigotry free rein. It is already difficult to be a teen and to subject non-binary students to the denial of their identity, to further isolation, to bullying and harassment, to the risk of assaults by extremists, is unconscionable.

I believe the proposal should be rejected and that Youngkin should be censured for such a short-sighted and ignorant act./Paula Holmes


Support 2022 model policies

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<p>Very supportive of these policies </p>


I strongly OPPOSE

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I strongly OPPOSE Governor Youngkin's proposal. As the mother of a young trans kid just beginning her school journey, I can only imagine the suffering that she would go through if she were constantly forced to identify with a gender that doesn't feel real to her. Right now, she is lucky enough to have gender affirming teachers and staff and it means the world. She is so much more confident and happy to go to school than she used to be. I cannot say enough how much this means to her. For her and for all trans kids in the state of Virginia, we cannot let this happen.


Changes in transgender rights.

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Strongly opposed changes proposed by Governor. Let the students decide for themselves.


Opposed! More children will be harmed than helped. Transgender kids are children, too.

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All children deserve to be treated with kindness, compassion; to be treated with respect and to be listened to; to be given safety and security. As parents and adults, we are the ones to provide them these things and more. We are supposed to nurture them. To protect them. To guide them. To love AND accept them for who they are, regardless of who that may be.

Children are our future. They are the ones who will inherit the world we have built for them.  We cannot exist without them—and they cannot without us.

If this is passed, more children will be harmed than protected. Their lives will be actively put in danger. More specifically, transgender children will be put in harm’s way—for the only crime of simply existing. Transgender children deserve the same treatment and rights as any other child.

I PLEAD that you do not pass this and risk the lives of so many children. Countless children will be harmed more than helped with such guidelines.


Comments on the “Proposed 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students"

Nikolas Nartowicz, Americans United for Separation of Church and State

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On behalf of the Virginia members and supporters of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, I write to express our opposition to the “Proposed 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools” (Model Policies). The Model Policies misuse the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom as justification to erase trans and nonbinary youth from the classroom, creating a hostile and potentially dangerous school environment.

Religious freedom, as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, protects everyone’s right to practice the religion of their choice or no religion at all—so long as they don’t discriminate against or harm others. The Virginia Department of Education should reject the Model Policies because they would result in harm to Virginia’s trans and nonbinary students.

The Model Policies Would Harm Trans and Nonbinary Students

Tragically, transgender and nonbinary youth report more than four times greater rates of suicide attempts compared with their cisgender peers. But a recent study shows that transgender and nonbinary youth who reported that adults and peers accepted their gender identity had significantly lower odds of attempting suicide, including importantly, approval from school professionals led to 33% lower odds.[i] Yet, the Model Policies would prohibit teachers and other school staff from providing the support trans and nonbinary students need, actively creating a hostile and possibly dangerous school environment for these students. For example, they would prohibit school employees from using a student’s preferred name and pronouns without parental approval. And they would require school officials to “out” students to their parents in certain situations.

The Model Policies also require schools to deny students the right to participate in sports and to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities consistent with their gender identity. This is despite a recent study that found 60% of trans and nonbinary students who experienced bathroom discrimination seriously considered suicide: one in three attempted suicide in the past year, and one in five reported multiple suicide attempts.[ii]

Moreover, a recent poll found that 85% of transgender and nonbinary youth—and two-thirds of all LGBTQ youth—say that debates about state laws restricting the rights of transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health.[iii] This means that, just by proposing the Model Policies, Virginia has harmed its LGBTQ+ student community.

The evidence is clear—adopting the proposed Model Policies will harm students and could lead to increased incidents of suicide and suicide attempts by transgender and nonbinary youth.

The First Amendment Does Not Require Adoption of the Model Policies

The Development Section of the Model Policies wrongly attempts to ground the rule in the First Amendment principle that “forbids government actors to require individuals to adhere to or adopt any particular ideological beliefs” by claiming that “compelling others to use preferred pronouns is premised on [an] ideological belief” about gender. But ensuring that school employees use the correct pronouns and allowing students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity does not require anyone to “adopt”—or even agree with—any belief about gender or gender identity.[iv] It merely requires school employees to treat trans and nonbinary students with respect. This is the right policy—no student should be discriminated against by their teacher.

To the contrary, the Model Policies actually violate the First Amendment because they use religion as a justification to prohibit all teachers and other school employees from being inclusive and affirming of transgender and nonbinary students in their teaching and in their interactions.

First, the Model Policies function as a blanket religious exemption. Under the Establishment Clause, the government’s ability to issue religious exemptions is not unlimited: To avoid a constitutional violation, a religious exemption “must be measured so that it does not override other significant interests”[v] and may not “impose unjustified burdens on other[s].”[vi] In other words, the government is forbidden from granting a religious exemption that will harm others.

The Model Policies, however, would impose real harm on trans and nonbinary students by not only prohibiting teachers and school employees from affirming transgender and nonbinary students but in fact also actively creating a hostile school environment. Indeed, the Model Policies’ blanket exemption would likely increase the risk of suicide attempts by trans and nonbinary students.

The Model Policies would also impermissibly use religion to override the state’s “significant interest” in protecting trans and nonbinary students. Virginia law requires the Department of Education to promulgate policies that maintain a “safe and supportive learning environment” for transgender students that is “free from discrimination and harassment.”[vii] Schools must also comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities.[viii] The Model Policies are contrary to the law that schools have an obligation to follow.

Second, the Model Policies would insert one religious viewpoint regarding trans and nonbinary people into school policies. The historic purpose of the federal Establishment Clause is to ensure “governmental neutrality between religion and religion, and between religion and nonreligion.”[ix] Thus, “[g]overnment in our democracy, state and national, must be neutral in matters of religious theory, doctrine, and practice. . . . [I]t may not aid, foster, or promote one religion or religious theory against another or even against the militant opposite.”[x] The Establishment Clause “preclude[s] government from conveying or attempting to convey a message that religion or a particular religious belief is favored or preferred”[xi] and bars government policies that are “tailored to the principles or prohibitions of any religious sect or dogma.”[xii] Yet, the Model Policies do exactly that—they enshrine a particular religious viewpoint about gender identity into official policy, and thus, run afoul of the Establishment Clause.

Conclusion

For all these reasons, Americans United urges you to oppose the Model Policies. Thank you for your consideration on this important matter.

[i] Josh Weaver, Acceptance of Transgender and Nonbinary Youth from Adults and Peers Associated with Significantly Lower Rates of Attempting Suicide, The Trevor Project, (Nov. 3, 2021) (overview of Myseshia Price & Amy E. Green, Transgender Health, Association of Gender Identity Acceptance with Fewer Suicide Attempts among Transgender and Nonbinary Youth (2021)).

[ii] Myseshia Price-Feeney, Amy E. Green, & Samuel H. Dorison, J. of Adolescent Health, Impact of Bathroom Discrimination on Mental Health Among Transgender and Nonbinary Youth (2020).

[iii] Josh Weaver, New Poll Illustrates the Impacts of Social & Political Issues on LGBTQ Youth, The Trevor Project, (Jan. 10, 2022).

[iv] Moreover, the Model Policies don’t just allow teachers who do not want to use the correct pronouns to refuse to do so. They prohibit all teachers, including those who do want to be gender affirming, from using a student’s preferred pronouns. This means that the Model Policies would actually require affirming teachers to “adhere to and adopt” the idea that using a student’s preferred pronouns is wrong.

[v] Cutter v. Wilkinson, 544 U.S. 709, 722 (2005); see also Estate of Thornton v. Caldor, Inc. 472 U.S. 703, 709-10 (1985) (“unyielding weighting” of religious interests of those taking exemption “over all other interests” violates Constitution).

[vi] Cutter, 544 U.S. at 726. See also Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock, 480 U.S. 1, 18 n.8 (1989) (religious accommodations may not impose “substantial burdens on nonbeneficiaries”).

[vii] Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-23.3.

[viii] 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a). In Bostock v. Clayton County, the Supreme Court explained that “it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being . . . transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex.” 140 S. Ct. 1731, 1741 (2020). The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Court has held that the reasoning in Bostock applies to claims under Title IX. Grimm v. Gloucester Cty. Schl. Bd., 972 F.3d 586, 616 (4th Cir. 2020).

[ix] Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97, 103-04 (1968)

[x] Id.

[xi] Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38, 70 (O’Connor, J., concurring).

[xii] Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97, 106 (1968).


Strongly oppose Youngkin’s draft model policy

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<p>I strongly oppose Governor Youngkin’s draft model policy regarding transgender and non-binary youth in Virginia schools. </p>


STRONGLY OPPOSE

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I am a lifetime resident of Virginia. I am also a product of Fairfax County public schools, as is my husband, my brother, and many of my friends.

I am deeply troubled by this proposed guidance. While it purports to safeguard the rights of parents, its visible intent is to target transgender, non-binary, and gender expansive youth who already often face extreme social exclusion and isolation. In co-opting language around dignity and respect, ultimately this guidance will harm trans kids, and incubate intolerance within our schools and communities.


Oppose policy

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<p>I oppose Governor Youngkin’s proposed policy regarding transgender youth in our schools. I believe this policy will endanger transgender students lives by informing parents who may not be supportive. This proposed policy will create a hostile and potentially dangerous school environment. </p>


Thanks for development of 2022 model policies

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<p>I'm very supportive </p>


I am strongly opposed.


2022 model policies are needed

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<p>Please pass 2022 model policies </p>


NAMI Northern Virginia - Opposed to model policies. Protect the mental health of our youth

NAMI Northern Virginia, Rebecca Kiessling, Executive Director

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Students deserve a place free from discrimination and harassment. These are rights ALL students deserve – regardless of gender identity, race, mental illness, disability, genetic information, or sexual orientation.

Former Governor Northam paved the way for FCPS Regulation 2603 and Loudoun Policy 8040. These moves gave transgender youth some protections in our public schools - protection from harassment, from stigma, from discrimination, from living in constant fear. Now they risk all those securities being stripped away at a time when every report and survey shows, even here locally, LGBTQI youth are significantly more likely than their cisgendered peers to experience depression, anxiety, suicidal ideations and attempts, and substance abuse - in our community and nationwide.

NAMI Northern Virginia strongly opposes any policy that restricts support and increases risk of discrimination against LGBTQI youth and adults. Any move to remove one of our transgender students’ only protected spaces, to restrict discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, or to further oppress their inclusion can lead to a continued increase of serious mental health and safety challenges to young people already stigmatized for being “different.” Our youth deserve support, protection, and inclusion in all aspects of their lives.

To our LGBTQI youth throughout our communities – NAMI Northern Virginia is here to support you. You are seen. You are loved. You are not alone. We hope that our elected officials can prove to the future of Virginia you, too, love them.


Strongly opposed to the model policy

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Please don't take Virginia backwards, please keep moving us forward. Look around the world at other nations. The hallmark of an evolved nation is how they treat their most vulnerable, how they define equal rights, and how closely they hold those values to the heart and soul of their Nation.

Respecting an individual's pronouns can be life-saving. Having just ONE supportive adult in your childhood or adolescence- who tells you that you are normal and perfect- can be life changing. And sadly, that person is not always a parent. That's why it's so important for students to be able to see school as a safe space. To be able to connect with that adult- be it a trusted teacher or counselor- without the fear of being outed to a parent who might shame, threaten, or emotionally or physically harm them for being gay or transgender.

Pronouns should be respected. Period. It's not that hard. As someone who works in the human services field, we learn early on that people we work with will come from all walks of life and we will have to set aside our own cultural, religious, and personal values and beliefs and work with each person equally. This should be no different as an educator. If an educator can't respect my child's pronouns or their existence because of their beliefs- if they can't see my child as a CHILD- well then maybe this isn't the career for them.

Because isn't this what we're really asking for? A child's right to exist? As who they are? In the skin that they are comfortable in? I'm writing to strongly oppose the proposed 2022 model policy and to respectfully request that you protect the transgender and nonbinary children of the Commonwealth as you would any other child.


Protect our Children

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<p>Please protect our children - particularly our girls - from confused children. </p>


Support - Parents are the kid's caregivers!

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Kid's parents are responsible for their kids until they are adults.  Why is it so different now?


Strongly oppose

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This policy will harm children. Please allow them to be themselves in their schools when they might not be safe to do so at home.


Trans- gender dysphoric mentally I’ll child being encouraged by a mentally ill extreme liberal adult

Get the kids mental health support and real support not encouragement

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<p>Yes. stop hurting kids, extreme liberal woke sickos. </p>


I oppose the guidance

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As a member of this community, I oppose this discriminatory and harmful guidance"


A concerned citizen and grandmother supports

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I support parental rights over educators policies. As a grandmother of two granddaughters who prefer to be identified as males, I understand how confusing this world is for them. They come from a home with three brothers and a mom who left them and their dad (our son) and abandoned her responsibilities as a mom. They don’t have a good role model for a woman in their home. I get that. They need a lot of counseling. But to add insult to injury and be told that they can abandon their biological gender just by choice adds conflict to their confusion. At what point did, “follow the science” arrive at this? There is no science behind this at all. And there is not enough evidence to prove that those who fully invest in their chosen gender identity through surgery or hormone therapy are any better off psychologically than those who don’t. They aren’t depressed or suicidal because they are rejected by “transphobic” people. They’re depressed because they are rejecting their natural sexuality and nobody’s stopping them.


Support Transgender Youth Protections

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<p>ALL students need support from school, including LGBT youth. We don't need to create more misery in the world than there is already. </p>


Support for 2022 Model Policies

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<p> I totally support the 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools. The 2021 policy is hostile to parents rights and a proper understanding of the human person, and badly needs replacing! This proposed policy would restore proper rights to all. Thank you.</p>


A boy can turn into a girl and have babies. Totally normal it’s nature. Accept or I’ll hurt myself

Celebrate our bravery. Its hard to be the only boy on the girls team.

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This is insanity and mental illness for the gender dysphoria kid and the mentally I’ll extreme liberal adult encouraging them


Strongly Oppose

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This new model tries to erase trans and nonbinary youth. These are children just trying to find themselves in a world that is less than kind - as can be seen with this new legislation. Asking teachers to out trans and nonbinary youth is disgusting and can be detrimental to their lives. Children kill themselves for less. Do better.


Model policies should model acceptance and inclusion not discrimination

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Parental rights are being used as a cover to enable discrimination of transgender students. Educators and parents should be seen as partners, both acting with the best interests of students.

The model policies proposed by this administration restrict my rights and those of parents who believe schools should be inclusive and supportive of all students. Instead of catering to the bigoted few, the model policies should provide for research based practices that support students. Schools should be a safe place for children to explore their identity and research shows that transgender youth are at increased risk for self harm especially when faced with discrimination and lack of support.

If the definition of freedom is to the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint, it certainly seems that the restrictions on using preferred pronouns and the restroom that matches your gender identity would be unacceptable. Students should have the freedom to be who they are and the right to be respected and supported and that should not be lost in the name of parental rights.


Parents Rights On Childrens Education

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I support Governor Youngkins proposal to support parents rights over their childrens education.


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I oppose this in the strongest possible manor.


Strongly Opposed to Proposed Guidance Concerning Transgender Youth

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Strongly Opposed to Proposed Model Guidance for Transgender Students

As a mother and grandmother, this proposed model guidance hurts my heart.  I fear that it will result in increased depression and anxiety in transgender youth, bladder infections since they can’t use the bathroom in which they feel safe, and increased instances of suicide, bullying and/or homelessness.

Sadly, not all parents are accepting of their children’s need to live authentically as themselves.  If trans youth must obtain parental permission to be identified as the gender which feels authentic to them, and to use the bathroom set aside for that gender, then they are at increased risk of domestic violence.

I am also a member of the Christian clergy.  Over and over, Jesus stood on the side of the outsider and those who were oppressed.  He taught us to love one another, and said: “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven”.  And then he blessed them.

Instead of love, this proposed policy is, in my opinion, filled with hate.  Isn’t Virginia supposed to be for lovers?


I fully oppose this.


Strongly OPPOSE!

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I oppose Gov. Youngkin's proposed policy change.


LGBTQIA+ Students

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As long as doing so does not disrupt anyone else's life, EVERY member of this community deserves to live their life and their truth in peace. As it is/should be the case with every member of the student body, removing the protections in place that ensure LGBTQIA+ students can attend school, learn, and participate in school activities free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying would be detrimental to these students, their families, and friends. These policies should be and remain the responsibility of everyone charged with the mental health and well-being of every student in every classroom.