Parents rights should not over ride someone's rights to their own body...

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<p>As a parent of one Trans identifying child I have had to learn many new things that I previously had no knowledge or interest in before. My child process has been challenging and I can say it is more than I expected but it doesn't change how I feel or think of them nor will anything they do change that... I think that this "new" policy which supposedly is better for parents really is limiting their freedom to choose whom they are and will become. I talk to my child regularly because I care but I also trust them to make the right choice based on what they feel is right. That is my job as a parent is to let them grow up and these changes that are in this new policy are crippling their identity, cruelly boxing them into as place that they are not comfortable. Schools should be a place they can grow and change into the adults they are becoming. Don't take away their rights and hopes with the pretense of parents rights. Parents can and should talk to their kids and no legislation or policy can force that. We need to lead by example of tolerance and inclusion so they can be happy healthy and good members of our society. </p>


It is a grave mistake to pass this.

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It is a grave mistake to pass this.


Strongly Oppose This Policy - Harmful to Children and Undue Burden on Virginia Families

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Students are in schools to learn math, English, science, foreign languages, history, physical education, etc. We need to make sure that trans youth are in class ready to learn as their whole selves, just as cisgender kids can do. This proposed policy creates distraction and discord at a time when students need to be focused on learning. Being called by a name or pronoun consistent with their gender identity means that they don't have to worry about who they can trust while they're at school - they can just be like the other kids and feel safe and learn. They don't have to lie to classmates or teachers to stay safe, they can just be who they are. The current policy which encourages faculty and staff to respond to and respect the names of the students and their pronouns as provided to them does this.

There are only around 4,000 transgender teens in Virginia schools. Many of them have the support of loving families, but others live in fear of being retaliated against or cut off from support systems. The policy proposed by the Youngkin administration would further alienate those students and place them back in a circumstance where they'd have to lie to their teachers and live in fear of their families finding out.

Furthermore, for trans students with supportive families, it places undue burden on them to provide documentation in order for their children to access facilities. And it also includes a clause which allows teachers to NOT respect those families' choices on account of their first amendment rights. Which way is it? What is our responsibility to vulnerable youth?

The American Psychiatric Association notes that "being transgender or gender diverse implies no impairment in judgment, stability, reliability, or general social or vocational capabilities; however, these individuals often experience discrimination due to a lack of civil rights protections for their gender identity or expression". The policy proposed by the Youngkin administration reinforces that there is something abnormal with trans and gender nonconforming youth.

Growing up, it was commonplace for my LGBT friends with unsupportive families to become temporarily homeless or attempt suicide. This was before the culture was more accepting and before they could be "out" at school. Therefore, they spent their young lives trying to figure out who they could trust. Would confiding in a guidance counselor result in a phone call home? Would joining a Gay-Straight Alliance Club for camaraderie mean that their mom would kick them out again, or withhold food?

Living in fear didn't make them straight or not transgender. It just made them hopeless.

We want our Virginia students to be able to be themselves at school, to be known as the scholars they are. Don't make it political, Governor Youngkin, let students be able to be themselves at school. This takes nothing away from their relationships with their parents. For some students, it could be the thing that keeps them from learning and having a bright and prosperous future.


I support the Governors stance on this policy. This policy honors role of the parents!

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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.

Student participation in sex-specific athletics, school activities and events should be determined by sex, e.g., for overnight travel accommodations and locker rooms.

Students should use bathrooms that correspond to their sex. Single-user bathrooms and facilities should be made available in accessible areas and provided with appropriate signage, indication accessibility for all students.

Thank you for your consideration!


We need this common sense change in policy!

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This policy change is critical to freedom and protection of beliefs and parental rights.  Any policy that treats children as property of the state is dangerous and any policy that manipulates the most vulnerable must be done away with and quickly! Thank you Gov. Youngkin for leading this charge. Praying for you!


Uphold Parent Rights

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Parents are the first teachers of their children and have an irreplaceable role in guiding them and ensuring their well-being. Please ensure parental rights are upheld. Please protect all children from ideologies that can cause lasting harm.


I firmly oppose Governor Youngkin’s policies

                                                                                Sunday, October 23, 2022Dear Glenn Youngkin,
Hello, I hope this note brings you well. I hope you can please have an understanding. First and foremost, we are called to love one another as Christ has loved us. We also all have different opinions, and that is what makes us stronger. It’s totally acceptable to have a different opinion so long as you are being respectful to other people. However, when we decide to bully, harass, discriminate, or disrespect someone for who they are or who they want to be, then that isn’t a belief at that point. It’s just hatred and bigotry. I understand that Glenn Youngkin wants parents involved in their child’s life, but when it comes to this matter, not every parent will be supportive of their child. For instance, a peer at my school who is trans who came out to his parents, got disowned and now is homeless. Also, I have a new friend who is agender and they are in an abusive home environment. Therefore as we see, Glenn Youngkin’s outing kids policies will only cause more harm than good to their safety and well-being. Speaking of the suicide rate among transgender individuals, it is up to 56% already-without these inhumane policies put in place. The amount of bullying, harassment, violence, and disrespect will only go up, as so will suicides. Also, trans people deserve to feel safe, welcomed, and included for who they are. Gender identity is simply just a part of who they are, and it’s not a sin to be how God made you. God makes no mistakes, and we are beautifully, fearfully, wonderfully made. So, we should respect people’s preferred pronouns, restroom, sports teams, names, and gender expressions. I just think it’s not the Governor’s place to impose his radical beliefs on others. There are so many people trying to fight this bill, so many people that this will hurt, and it’s just not something that Jesus would do. Jesus said “Do unto others as they would have unto you.” Come on, guys! Just treat others how you want to be treated. Just be a good fellow human being, and that’s all we are really asking you, Glenn Youngkin? Can you please just listen and put your narcissism about your beliefs aside for a moment? Instead of judging a whole group of people, why not look at this verse that Jesus also writes. Matthew 7:1-“Judge not least you be judged. Don’t judge others, just love others. Be a good person. It’s not about you. You’re putting these children’s lives at risk. One more request for you please, before you judge the LGBTQIA+ Community, please please please please educate yourself on the science backed up on gender identity and sexual orientation. LGBTQ people didn’t choose their identities, and it’s not a sin. They are just trying to follow out God’s plan for them. Also, read KJV-it’s the first Bible and it doesn’t have man-made versions. It’s the real, original Bible where the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets. KJV doesn’t even condemn LGBTQ-it wasn’t even understood in those times. It was giving marriage between a man and a woman as an example. There were same-sex people living together and there’s one verse that said that David loved man more than woman, plus he was with Jonathan. Love is love. In addition, there was gender nonconforming people in the Bible and God made intersex people-Matthew 5:12. Lastly, KJV says that be aware of other versions of other people putting stuff into the other Bibles, and that man putting is a false prophet. So, Glenn Youngkin, I really pray for you, I love you and don’t hate you, but I genuinely hope that you will have the courage to repent of what you’re about to do, and turn to Jesus and follow his ways of love, celebration, and acceptance for all human beings. I pray that you have the wisdom to do what the right thing is for these families and students, and please stop what you’re about to do because it will cause the most harm you won’t even be able to wrap your mind around it. Thank you.
God Bless,
Anna Joan PhillipsColgan High School PWCS 24’Prince William Human Rights Student Leadership Council
John 13:34-“Love one another as I have loved you.”

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                                                                                Sunday, October 23, 2022
Dear Glenn Youngkin,

Hello, I hope this note brings you well. I hope you can please have an understanding. First and foremost, we are called to love one another as Christ has loved us. We also all have different opinions, and that is what makes us stronger. It’s totally acceptable to have a different opinion so long as you are being respectful to other people. However, when we decide to bully, harass, discriminate, or disrespect someone for who they are or who they want to be, then that isn’t a belief at that point. It’s just hatred and bigotry. I understand that Glenn Youngkin wants parents involved in their child’s life, but when it comes to this matter, not every parent will be supportive of their child. For instance, a peer at my school who is trans who came out to his parents, got disowned and now is homeless. Also, I have a new friend who is agender and they are in an abusive home environment. Therefore as we see, Glenn Youngkin’s outing kids policies will only cause more harm than good to their safety and well-being. Speaking of the suicide rate among transgender individuals, it is up to 56% already-without these inhumane policies put in place. The amount of bullying, harassment, violence, and disrespect will only go up, as so will suicides. Also, trans people deserve to feel safe, welcomed, and included for who they are. Gender identity is simply just a part of who they are, and it’s not a sin to be how God made you. God makes no mistakes, and we are beautifully, fearfully, wonderfully made. So, we should respect people’s preferred pronouns, restroom, sports teams, names, and gender expressions. I just think it’s not the Governor’s place to impose his radical beliefs on others. There are so many people trying to fight this bill, so many people that this will hurt, and it’s just not something that Jesus would do. Jesus said “Do unto others as they would have unto you.” Come on, guys! Just treat others how you want to be treated. Just be a good fellow human being, and that’s all we are really asking you, Glenn Youngkin? Can you please just listen and put your narcissism about your beliefs aside for a moment? Instead of judging a whole group of people, why not look at this verse that Jesus also writes. Matthew 7:1-“Judge not least you be judged. Don’t judge others, just love others. Be a good person. It’s not about you. You’re putting these children’s lives at risk. One more request for you please, before you judge the LGBTQIA+ Community, please please please please educate yourself on the science backed up on gender identity and sexual orientation. LGBTQ people didn’t choose their identities, and it’s not a sin. They are just trying to follow out God’s plan for them. Also, read KJV-it’s the first Bible and it doesn’t have man-made versions. It’s the real, original Bible where the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets. KJV doesn’t even condemn LGBTQ-it wasn’t even understood in those times. It was giving marriage between a man and a woman as an example. There were same-sex people living together and there’s one verse that said that David loved man more than woman, plus he was with Jonathan. Love is love. In addition, there was gender nonconforming people in the Bible and God made intersex people-Matthew 5:12. Lastly, KJV says that be aware of other versions of other people putting stuff into the other Bibles, and that man putting is a false prophet. So, Glenn Youngkin, I really pray for you, I love you and don’t hate you, but I genuinely hope that you will have the courage to repent of what you’re about to do, and turn to Jesus and follow his ways of love, celebration, and acceptance for all human beings. I pray that you have the wisdom to do what the right thing is for these families and students, and please stop what you’re about to do because it will cause the most harm you won’t even be able to wrap your mind around it. Thank you.

God Bless,

Anna Joan Phillips
Colgan High School PWCS 24’
Prince William Human Rights Student Leadership Council

John 13:34-“Love one another as I have loved you.”


Strongly Opposed

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I oppose this policy. It is dangerous and cruel to the trans students in VA.


All children deserve support, safety, and access to full educational and recreational facilities

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I strongly oppose Governor Youngkin's proposals.

This proposed policy would ensure that students in Virginia's public schools are not given equal access to educational facilities, while also creating an environment that will jeopardize the health and safety of transgender and gender-diverse youth. Our schools should be places that are welcoming and supportive to all students, informed by the policies and practices of health care professionals, not animated by political divisiveness and bigotry.

As a recent letter from healthcare professionals across Virginia clearly states, "

Unfortunately, the aforementioned proposed school policy enacts dangerous barriers to the safety of transgender and gender-diverse children. First, in mandating schools to inform unsupportive parents of their child’s identity, this policy obliterates the one affirming space a child may have and increases the risk of suicide and abuse by unnecessarily provoking parental hostility and rejection. Additionally, it bans any measure to affirm a child’s identity without written parental instruction by requiring school employees to use the student’s legal sex and name instead of their pronouns and authentic name. This extraordinarily harmful mandate has no legal basis. The referenced US Supreme Court cases of Troxel v Granville, Wisconsin v Yoder, and Pierce v Society of Sisters refer to matters of familial visitation and the right to withdraw from public school - not a parent’s right to determine their child’s identity and access to critical health services, such as gender counseling.

Furthermore, the proposed policy mandates students to participate in extracurricular activities and use bathrooms according to their assigned sex, despite legal precendent considering this unlawful discrimation.3 In fact, this proposed policy eliminates every effort in its predecessor to create a nurturing and supportive environment, apathetic to the psychological and physical consequences to our transgender and gender-diverse youth. This policy claims that, “All students have the right to attend school in an environment free from discrimination, harassment, or bullying,” yet persecutes children by denying them their identity. Any policy that allows teachers and staff to mistreat their students in this way is discriminatory at best and deadly at worst.

As Virginia’s healthcare workers, we are the ones who see children in emergency departments when they decide their lives aren’t worth living anymore, or when the trauma in their bodies manifests as seizures, psychosis, or debilitating pain. We are the ones who listen to these children weep as we try to convince them that their future is bright and real, that the bullying will one day be in the past, that acceptance of who they are will come. When we say that this proposed policy will devastate our children’s safety, we know from witnessing it ourselves. This policy will negatively impact the health and wellbeing of our children, leading to higher rates of suicide and self-harm, and we demand this proposal be denied."

As an educator, I affirm these statements with great urgency. Our children and youth need our support, our dedication to their safety and wellbeing. They should not be political pawns, and schools should be on the front lines of battling against discrimination rather than enshrining it.


Oppose this change

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I oppose this change. This country has an ongoing issue with punishing those that do not conform to the way white people with power want them to behave. Black people, Jewish people, and LGBT+ people of all ages continue to dismissed and damaged by these people over and over. For a state that wants to be seen as leading the country in education, military, and business, policies such as this guidance change continues to demonstrate that the Commonwealth of Virginia is incapable of leading when so many people in the state want to harm their fellow Virginians.


School choice solves this

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<p>If you can pick your school, you can align your values. Teachers unions; this would give you bargaining power with parents and reduce paperwork. You should be it's biggest supporter. You could have a school that focused on nothing but critical theories and we could compare outcomes. </p>


I oppose this fully.


The 2022 Model Policies are an Invasion of Privacy - Student Privacy

Privacy is necessary to the wellbeing of all humans, especially children. The 2021 Model Policies allowed school staff to “consider the health and safety of the student in situations where students may not want their parents to know about their gender identity,” a protection that the 2022 Proposed Model Policies remove. While schools are indeed required to comply with FERPA, and parents do have a recognized right to their children’s educational information, those rights are not absolute when they endanger those children’s wellbeing.Further, the 2021 Model Policies permitted disclosure of a student’s gender identity only to other school personnel when there was a legitimate educational interest. The 2022 Model Policies require outing trans students to their parents along with school staff with a legitimate educational interest.As the 2021 Model Policies acknowledged, disclosing a transgender student's gender identity to an unsupportive family “can pose imminent safety risks, such as losing family support or housing.” A recent study by the Trevor Project reported that 38% of transgender girls, 39% of transgender boys, and 35% of nonbinary youth surveyed had experienced homelessness and housing instability at some point in their lives. ( Homelessness and Housing Instability Among LGBTQ Youth, The Trevor Project, https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/homelessness-and-housing-instability-among-lgbtq-youth-feb-2022/. ) These rates are disproportionately greater for non-white LGBTQ+ youth. Id. 16% of LGBTQ+ youth reported running away because of fears of abuse, 14% reported that they were kicked out or abandoned by parents or caregivers. Id.The United States Supreme Court has found that “a State's interest in safeguarding the physical and psychological well-being of a minor is compelling,” and as a result has “sustained legislation aimed at protecting the physical and emotional well-being of youth even when the laws have operated in the sensitive area of constitutionally protected rights.” New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747, 756 (1982).The new policy could be read to force disclosure of a student’s gender identity even when that disclosure endangers the student. All students deserve a school that will uphold a safe and secure environment for them to flourish. The 2022 Model Policies do not put the health and safety of students first.  For these reasons, I ask you to repeal the 2022 Model Policies and reinstate the 2021 Model Policies.

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Privacy is necessary to the wellbeing of all humans, especially children. The 2021 Model Policies allowed school staff to “consider the health and safety of the student in situations where students may not want their parents to know about their gender identity,” a protection that the 2022 Proposed Model Policies remove. While schools are indeed required to comply with FERPA, and parents do have a recognized right to their children’s educational information, those rights are not absolute when they endanger those children’s wellbeing.
Further, the 2021 Model Policies permitted disclosure of a student’s gender identity only to other school personnel when there was a legitimate educational interest. The 2022 Model Policies require outing trans students to their parents along with school staff with a legitimate educational interest.
As the 2021 Model Policies acknowledged, disclosing a transgender student's gender identity to an unsupportive family “can pose imminent safety risks, such as losing family support or housing.” A recent study by the Trevor Project reported that 38% of transgender girls, 39% of transgender boys, and 35% of nonbinary youth surveyed had experienced homelessness and housing instability at some point in their lives. ( Homelessness and Housing Instability Among LGBTQ Youth, The Trevor Project, https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/homelessness-and-housing-instability-among-lgbtq-youth-feb-2022/. ) These rates are disproportionately greater for non-white LGBTQ+ youth. Id. 16% of LGBTQ+ youth reported running away because of fears of abuse, 14% reported that they were kicked out or abandoned by parents or caregivers. Id.
The United States Supreme Court has found that “a State's interest in safeguarding the physical and psychological well-being of a minor is compelling,” and as a result has “sustained legislation aimed at protecting the physical and emotional well-being of youth even when the laws have operated in the sensitive area of constitutionally protected rights.” New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747, 756 (1982).
The new policy could be read to force disclosure of a student’s gender identity even when that disclosure endangers the student. All students deserve a school that will uphold a safe and secure environment for them to flourish. The 2022 Model Policies do not put the health and safety of students first.  For these reasons, I ask you to repeal the 2022 Model Policies and reinstate the 2021 Model Policies.


Thank you Governor Youngkin for protecting our Girls!

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Thank you Governor Youngkin!  Please protect our daughters!


Fully support Governor Youngkin!


I fully oppose this.


Fully supported! Governor Youngkin make changes!


Fully support!  Thank you Governor Youngkin!


Biological gender for bathroom and sports! No exceptions! Fully support!!!


VDOE Model 2022 Ed Policy

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I fully support the 2022 policy.  I witnessed first hand the near destruction of family units when parental authority was usurped.


New guidelines seem to overstep bounds

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I’m opposed to these new guidelines because they seem to contradict our Constitution’s guarantee to the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness to our students. I think the students should have the right to disclose their personal information to whoever they want to - it’s nobody else’s business. While I think parents do have an incremental role in the supervision of their children’s development, the disclosure of pronouns does not make any sort of difference as to the wellbeing of that child unless the child takes it upon themselves to tell them. It’s a family issue - one that should be talked about around the kitchen table and not told to the parents by teachers. And as far as sports - I think students should play on whatever team they want. Research has shown that testosterone levels and muscle mass make a miniscule difference compared to the motivation and enthusiasm of the players. Look at our military - we see similar results. For bathrooms - transgender students need to use the restroom that they identify with, not what’s on their birth certificate. If a person is truly transgender, then that person would not even consider using the restroom for anything other than “using the restroom.” With or without any guidelines, there will never be any stopping some male student going into the girls’ restroom and sexually harassing or even assaulting girls. If a boy wants to do it, he’ll do it. Letting transgender girls use the girls’ restroom does not make that possibility more likely. Now, you’ll have the occasional boy who says he identifies as a girl but really, he doesn’t - he’s just a pervert - and those are the types of students who need to be expelled. What the solution to all of this would be, to create a safe environment for students, would be to allow trans students to use the restroom they identify with and establish offices in each school where students can go anonymously to report if they’ve been harassed or assaulted. Maybe even put an alarm button in the bathroom so that a teacher or (if the school has police) an officer can make it to the scene quickly. Make it so that the button alerts all staff - it could be a little contraption that knacks onto a a belt loop or shirt pocket that vibrates, and it could also connect to the principal’s office and the harassment office in the form of an audible beeper. This could also connect to the local police department if it becomes a continuing issue - like a *“life alert”* button. Transgender students need to feel safe and seen - and in order to create that environment, we need to foster for them the life and liberty that they deserve for them to embark on the pursuit of happiness.

It is important to note too that transgender identity is nothing new - it is not a trend. The American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, World Health Organization, National Health Service, American Psychiatric Association, and more organizations all acknowledge that gender is on a spectrum and that transgender people may require hormone treatment and surgery in order to live a healthy life in their own identity. It is important to note that the DSM–5 articulates explicitly that “gender non-conformity is not in itself a mental disorder.” Gender dysphoria is treated, as stated by all of these health organizations - by allowing hormone therapy and fostering a supportive environment - and by allowing them to utilize facilities and have access to the same opportunities as their cisgender counterparts. If the school nurse’s office is to take gender dysphoria seriously, then these guidelines should be reversed back to how they were under Northam’s administration. These are not political issues - although this topic has been highly politicized - these are public health issues.


Transgender Policy in schools

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<p>I find it very naive to say that parents know what is best for their child.  Yes, we do hope that all parents would know what is best for their child.  However, their own phobias and hang ups can interfere with their objectivity.  For students who do not have parents who can be objective and understanding, this policy would put undue and harmful pressure upon them to either risk their relationship with their parents or to hide who they really are.  We are not talking about a large number of students, but each student it would affect is a precious person and should have the right to privacy and choice.  We are not talking about the school providing hormone therapy or other surgical decisions, we are only talking about students having the ability to use the bathroom that fits their identity and to choose the pronouns that they are referred to.  Please let's get a bit of perspective on what is being asked here. </p>


Strongly support Governor Youngkin’s transgender policy

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Your strong common sense leadership on the transgender issue in our public schools will hopefully be a model for other states to follow.


I am completely opposed.

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I am completely opposed.


Agree with proposed policies

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<p>I believe this is a fair and reasonable policy that puts the power to make decisions back with the parents where it should be and at the same time is protecting the children. Thank you Governor Youngkin. </p>


Agree with proposed policies

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<p>I believe this is a fair and reasonable policy puts the power to make decisions back with the parents or it should be and at the same time is protecting the children. Thank you Governor Youngkin. </p>


Transphobic, hypocritical policies!!

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Don’t tell us how much you love all babies, then tell us how much you hate gay people as these policies imply.

Stop trying to use coercion to steer us back to your hypocritical sense of “Christianity.”

You ran on lies and deception. Pray for your soul. You are the worst governor ever!

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward." Matthew 6: 5


Support Trans Kids not their Parents policies

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It is important that students are allowed the freedom to identify however they want to regardless of what their parents think. Freedom of expression allows them to feel safe and secure in schools. Taking that away from children is transphobic and discrimination. They have the right to identify how they want. Please help support trans kids and their right to express themselves how they want.


Protect Emotionally Vulnerable Children and Parental Rights!

Dear Virginia Dept of Education,

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

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

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

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

Sincerely,
Janet Beam
9619 Carriage Rd
Kensington, MD 20895

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Dear Virginia Dept of Education,<br /><br />Schools should never secretly socially transition students and keep the child's new name, pronouns and gender identities from parents. I am pleased and relieved that the Virginia Department of Education's revised model policies support parental rights and ensure that school employees don't cut parents out of critical decisions for their children. <br /><br />The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued "model policies" in 2021 that encouraged every school district in Virginia to hide a child's new gender identity from parents who choose to affirm the child's biological sex. Under Governor Youngkin's leadership, the VDOE's revised policies make it clear that all children should be valued and parents' rights and beliefs should be respected. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools keep parents involved in major decisions in their children's lives.<br /><br />The 2021 VDOE "model policies" encouraged schools to create "a plan (that) may include addressing the student at school with their name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity while using the legal name and pronoun associated with the sex assigned at birth when communicating with parents or guardians." <br /><br />I strongly support the revised policies that end this practice. Virginia schools should not drive a wedge between parents and their emotionally vulnerable children. Virginia school districts, including those who have already communicated their plans to ignore the 2022 revised model policies, should put an end to secret Gender Support Plans now.<br /><br />Sincerely,
<br />Janet Beam
<br />9619 Carriage Rd<br />Kensington, MD 20895<br /><img src="http://admin.phone2action.com/email/open/leg/657523/148681450" width="1" height="1" />


These policies are hateful and force “Christian” nationalism on all of us!

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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.


OPPOSE! OPPOSE!! OPPOSE!!!!!

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Don’t tell us how much you love all babies, then tell us how much you hate gay people as these policies imply.

Stop trying to use coercion to steer us back to your hypocritical sense of “Christianity.”

You ran on lies and deception. Pray for your soul. You are the worst governor ever!


I oppose this fully.


VIRGINIA IS FOR HATERS WITH THESE POLICIES!!!!!!

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This is not about bathroom rights. It’s about human rights!

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!


Support the new policy

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<p>Support the new policy </p>


Trans female in California shout out to all Virginia trans- come to California.

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You will love California. It’s super sunny and people will call you whatever pronoun you want. San Francisco is really great. You can pee anywhere you want


Support Gov't Youngkin proposal

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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 polices, school officials must keep parents fully informed and required schools to enforce laws, regulations and policies that prohibit and deter bullying or harassment.


Hateful, shameful policies. Disgraceful governor!!!!!!!!


Strongly Support


Support Gov't Youngkin proposal

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The new polices honor the sacred role of parents in the care of their children during school, athletics, and other activities.


Parents know their children's need better than anyone.

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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 required schools to enforce laws, regulations and polices that prohibit and deter bullying or harassment.


As a father I oppose

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As a father I deeply oppose these policies. Of course we need to support parents rights, but students have rights as well. And we cannot afford to put students lives in danger. These students have a right to be addressed by the pronouns and name that they identify with. If a teacher can’t accept that, maybe they shouldnt be a teacher. I think if Youngkin would stop running for president we would all be better off.

pablo


support

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I support the rights of parents to be the primary, original, irreplaceable and inalienable educators of their children.


Support these students

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My name is DeMarcus Cousins IV and I write in opposition to these policies that Governor Youngkin has proposed that would rip rights away from out LGBTQ students.


Strongly oppose these dangerous "model" policies!

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The proposed policies will create a hostile and potentially dangerous environment both at school and at home for most transgender and non-binary youth.

The proposed policies:

* Require teachers and school staff to forcibly "out" students to their parents against their will in some circumstances, such as when a student seeks gender related counseling; and allows teachers and school staff to refuse to provide counseling.

* Prohibit teachers and school staff from supporting transgender and non-binary students, such as using a student's affirming name and pronouns; and outright prevents the use of gender-neutral pronouns such as they/them.

* Create bathroom and other policies that prohibit access to and/or participation in activities consistent with their gender identity.

The proposed policies are against current Virginia law. These must not be adopted!

Love thy neighbor - All of them!!

Corb Ardrey

CorbVA@gmail.com

434-228-8705


Oppose

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These are terrible policies. We must stand with trans kids.


Support parental rights in education

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Support parental rights in education


I approve of updated gender policies by Gov. Youngkin

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I approve of the updated gender policies of Gov. Youngkin.  These new guidelines help to protect parental rights.  Parents should be involved in every activity and decision related to their minor child.  The previous policy guideline encouraged school staff to deceive parents regarding the child's behavior and even to provide counseling without parental consent.  Students in middle and high school are often going through challenging and sometimes confusing times about their changing body and identity on many levels.  They often act out in unusual ways to demonstrate their individuality.  Decisions about gender identity can be life altering, and therefore need to be made in consultation with parents. That is a time when they need the guidance of loving parents and more communication instead of less.

I also approve of the new policy guidance which protects staff and students from compelled speech which violates their conscience or religious beliefs.

In addition, the new policy guidance provides for greater protection of girls sports.  Transgender females have a decided and unfair advantage over biological females and should not be allowed to compete against them.

Thank you for your consideration!


Support Parent Role in education

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The new policies protect the fundamental religious liberty interests of personnel and students.


Support for new policy

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Parents are the first teachers of their children and have an irreplaceable role in guiding them and ensuring their well-being. (CCC, 2221). In 2020, the Virginia Catholic Conference opposed legislation requiring VDOE to issue transgender policy mandates on public schools. In 2021, we opposed the Northam administration’s regulations implementing this legislation – regulations which severely undercut parents’ rights.


Support the Revised Policy

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I am writing in support of the Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents.  As transgenderism has grown into a social contagion, feeding disregard for parental rights and marginalizing proper therapeutic treatment options for minors, I have become concerned that our schools are being used more and more as by activists as platforms to push transgender and other sexual identity policies harmful to children and their education.  These duplicitous methods are designed to advance political agendas well beyond the four walls of schools in Virginia.; we've seen it with race and now we see it with gender.  Parents are the moral teachers of their own children; the state has no right to interfere in that relationship and contradict parental views on issues like gender and sexuality.  Policies designed to hide sexual identity issues from parents, and to sexualize children with age-inappropriate material, sow confusion and groom kids into making false choices on gender that defy reality and common sense. The policies are also an affront to religious liberty. The state cannot trample on my constitutional rights to live my life according to my conscience and to instruct my children in tenets of my Catholic faith, which teaches that God created only man and woman, two genders, which are not ours to choose. Our Constitution also requires that we respect the sexual identities of others, even if we do not fundamentally agree. But there are other ways to accommodate the extremely small number of children suffering from gender dysphoria and they do not involve opening bathroom access and participation on sports teams of the opposite sex.  Nor do they involve inverting the natural order of humanity.  I urge the Youngkin Administration to continue the fight against the extremists policies that are dividing our schools and destroying the moral fabric of our society.

Regards,

Ron Baumgarten


Strongly Oppose

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I strongly oppose Governor Youngkin's policy on transgender kids. This is not good for the mental and physical well being of Transgender children in Virginia


Strongly Favor

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I am strongly in favor of the governors 2022 policies.


Oppose Model Policies

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I am a pediatrician and adolescent medicine provider caring for Virginia youth. I am writing to strongly oppose the proposed 2022 Model Policies proposed by the VODE. Transgender youth are six times more likely to have anxiety, four times more likely to have depression (i Bercerra-Culqui et al., 2018), and four times more likely to engage in substance use (ii Day et al., 2017) compared to their non-transgender peers. A growing number of medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and the Endocrine Society have stated that the best way to provide care for transgender and gender diverse youth and to prevent poor health outcomes is to support and affirm their gender identity. This recommendation is based on robust evidence that affirming transgender youth is associated with better health outcomes. The proposed policy directly contradicts best these best practices in multiple ways, including, but not limited to:

Requiring teachers and school staff to forcibly out students to their parents in some circumstances, such as where a student seeks counseling on gender/gender identity.

Prohibiting teachers and school staff from using the affirming name and pronouns of trans students and outright prohibits the usage of gender-neutral pronouns like they/them.

Prohibiting transgender and nonbinary youth from accessing facilities (like bathrooms) and participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.

These requirements will be immensely damaging to the physical and mental health of transgender youth. I strongly urge lawmakers to oppose the proposed Model Policies, which will amplify the health and safety risks faced by transgender youth.


Thank you Governor Youngkin

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Agree strongly with the new model policies. Thank you Governor.


Strongly oppose

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<p>I strongly oppose Governor Youngkin’s proposed policies. They are dangerous to trans kids’ mental and physical health and don’t represent the views of the people of Virginia. </p>


Safety for all students

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I agree with the governors policies regarding the treatment of transgender students.


Strongly in favor! Thank you, Gov. Youngkin!

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<p>These policies protect the constitutional right of religious liberty! </p>


Strongly support Governor Youngkin proposal

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Thanks Gov. Youngkin for bringing back the parents into this important conversation. Given the parents the ability to better influence their children's life.


Strongly agree!!

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Strongly agree with the Governor's policies.


Policies for Transgender Student Treatment

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I strongly support Gov. Youngkin's policies.


Strongly oppose.


I support Governor Glenn Youngkin's Model Policies for Students--2022

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Governor Youngkin's 2022 Model Policies are in line with what our public schools should be teaching and how they should approach transgender issues.  The 2021 Model Policies did not reflect the values Virginians place on education, especially with respect to parents' place in education.  Parents have a monumental responsibility to get involved with  what their children are taught, and how.


Support Governor Youngkin

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I don’t agree with former Northam’s policy.
I believe parents must be informed and encouraged to support their children.
The government and schools should not be encouraging or hiding information from the family.


Parental Rights must be supported!

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<p>The 2021 Model Policy directly infringes parental rights. I strongly support the 2022 Model Policy as a replacement to the 2021 version. </p>


Strongly Oppose

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<p>As an individual who works with students in a Virginia public school, I can honestly say that I will absolutely, 100% ignore these "2022 Model Policies" if they are enacted. I would rather be fired than support a "policy" that seeks to harm transgender students under the guise of "parental rights." I can think of nothing more abhorrent, or frankly stupid, than betraying the trust and confidence of a student by "keep[ing] parents fully informed about all matters that may be reasonably expected to be important to a parent..." The only way for me to effectively do my job is through building connections based on trust with my students, and no "Model Policies" will keep me from maintaining that trust, particularly and especially with transgender students who desire to be seen and treated as the person they AND NOT THEIR PARENTS know themselves to be. </p>


These policies are illegal and need to be recinded.

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These proposed model policies are contrary to state law and will be extremely harmful to transgender and nonbinary kids. Protect trans and nonbinary kids. RESCIND these model policies!

Thank you,

Alan


Go Youngkin! Thank you!

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<p>The new policies protect the fundamental religious liberty interests of personnel and students. </p>


Stop distracting voters and wasting taxpayer money

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I have two children in Virginia public schools, and I think that Youngkin’s proposed policy is an ahhorrent policy that seeks to distract voters with a false threat so that Youngkin is able to avoid taking any action or responsibility on issues that would actually impact most voters (such as improving health care access or improving the economy) and it does so by targeting vulnerable youth.

The policy that is currently in place doesn’t hurt anyone – what it does do is help support vulnerable youth so that they can focus on their studies and become productive members of this state – rather than be distracted by being targeted by bullies or misgendered by their teachers. Transgender youth are just trying to live their lives – so leave them alone and let them do that.

Stop wasting taxpayer money trying to police something that doesn’t involve you. And voters – stop falling for these ridiculous attempts to distract you! Transgender youth are not a threat to your kids. Start holding Youngkin accountable.


This will bring harm to trans kids.

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This will bring harm to trans kids.


Governor Youngkin's 2022 Model Policies

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Strongly support Governor Youngkin's 2022 Model Policies


2022 Model Policies

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<p>I strongly support Governor Youngkin's 2022 Model Policies which affirm parental rights over the political machinations of a totalitarian government. </p>


Oppose the New Policies

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I oppose Governor Youngkin's proposal because it does not acknowledge the reality of non binary students and it harms the mental and physical health of vulnerable youth.  We are the adults in the room. We in the Commonwealth of Virginia MUST do better for our children than the new model policies for the treatment of trans-gender students requires.


These regulations are ridiculous.

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I am a queer LCPS student and I led a walkout against these regulations at my school. Yes, I believe it is important for parents to keep an eye on their children, but not when it takes away the child's right to be who they want to be. In high school, we are told that we are being prepared for college. We take IB, AP, DE, honor classes and more, but we don't have the right to privacy? How is that reasonable? For kids like me, school is the only place where I can feel like myself, and the county is going to take that away? These regulations and constrictions give ALL the power back to the parents and the school system. If you want to treat me like a college student, I should be able to have the right to be myself without my parents being told so. To be honest, are you seriously trying to pass a regulation that allows parents to stop their child from being able to see the counselor? That doesn't just hurt queer students, but all students. It teaches teenagers that they can't ask for help when they need it. I led a walkout for a reason. Our basic human rights are being taken away and it won't stop here. This will keep happening until every right we have is taken. I won't stay silent. Just because I am out of high school next year doesn't mean I will stop fighting for queer representation. Our rights are being erased as we speak, and can not allow that to happen. Whether you are a part of the LGBTQ+ or not, this affects you. If you have any humanity left, sign petitions and speak up.


Strongly support Govenor Youngkin's 2022 model policies

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Please pass Govenor Youngkin 2022 model policies as is-do not change it


100% Support Gov Youngkin's support for parents and families

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A much needed common sense approach to educating our youth and acknowledging the primary role of parents in the education of their children.   The government has no role in encouraging, affirming or supporting any gender related issues related to our children.  This is the sole role of the family and any incursion by the state is contrary to our founding documents.


Oppose this proposed revision

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<p>I am the grandparent of a Virginia public school student, and I am strongly opposed to the proposed revision to the Model Policy. The school environment must support all children as they develop and grow and figure out who they are. This proposed revision violates the State of Virginia Board of Education Vision from 2018, "to create an excellent statewide system of public education that derives strength from diversity and that ensures equity of opportunity for each student in a safe and healthy learning environment." If we are to provide a safe and healthy environment, we must follow best practices as defined by mental and physical health experts. This proposed revision does not. It puts Virginia's children at risk, including my grandchild, and I strongly oppose it. </p>


Adamantly oppose

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<p>I am the proud parent of THREE trans kids, the youngest of whom is a senior at Maury High School in Norfolk where he is thriving. Youngkin's "guidelines" are rooted in fear and threaten my son's safety and sense of belonging and that of the thousands, yes, thousands of transgender kids in public schools across Virginia. </p>


I strongly approve of Gov. Youngkin’s  2022 proposed policies.

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I strongly approve of Gov. Youngkin’s  proposed overhaul of Va. DoE transgender policy mandates. I wonder if those persons who participated in writing the original transgender policy mandate have children in Va. public schools.


In favor

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I am not anti gay but making the other 90+% of students uncomfortable or even unsafe to make the minority comfortable is not a reasonable solution.


supporting parental rights in schools

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I support parental rights as parents know their children best.


Protect Emotionally Vulnerable Children and Parental Rights!

Dear Virginia Dept of Education,

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

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

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

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

Sincerely,
Erin Valentine
429 Shore Dr
Colonial Beach, VA 22443

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Dear Virginia Dept of Education,<br /><br />Schools should never secretly socially transition students and keep the child's new name, pronouns and gender identities from parents. I am pleased and relieved that the Virginia Department of Education's revised model policies support parental rights and ensure that school employees don't cut parents out of critical decisions for their children. <br /><br />The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued "model policies" in 2021 that encouraged every school district in Virginia to hide a child's new gender identity from parents who choose to affirm the child's biological sex. Under Governor Youngkin's leadership, the VDOE's revised policies make it clear that all children should be valued and parents' rights and beliefs should be respected. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools keep parents involved in major decisions in their children's lives.<br /><br />The 2021 VDOE "model policies" encouraged schools to create "a plan (that) may include addressing the student at school with their name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity while using the legal name and pronoun associated with the sex assigned at birth when communicating with parents or guardians." <br /><br />I strongly support the revised policies that end this practice. Virginia schools should not drive a wedge between parents and their emotionally vulnerable children. Virginia school districts, including those who have already communicated their plans to ignore the 2022 revised model policies, should put an end to secret Gender Support Plans now.<br /><br />Sincerely,
<br />Erin Valentine
<br />429 Shore Dr<br />Colonial Beach, VA 22443<br /><img src="http://admin.phone2action.com/email/open/leg/657523/148679492" width="1" height="1" />


In reference to the proposed policy for transgender students


I am completely opposed.

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I am completely opposed.


Transgender

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<p>100% Support the Governor. Until a child is 18, they are exactly that, a child and it is a parent's right and responsibility to protect them from making decisions that may harm them permanently. </p>


LGBTQ Youth need our full support!

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As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with therapist colleagues watching their teen clients' anxiety rise due to fears around this policy, I must speak out. Even more, my daughter identifies as non-binary and came out in their junior year of high school in 2018. They are now a thriving senior in college. I know that what has allowed them to thrive following a very difficult time during high school is being accepted for who she is. It is feeling included and welcomed without qualification. Instead, the draft model policy released September 16 by Governor Youngkin tells trans and non-binary youth that who they are is not welcome and must be disregarded. At a crucial time in the lives of trans and non-binary youth, this action would further harm these youth and is a factor which may lead to even more trans and non-binary youth suicides.

My entire family and I oppose this policy!

On September 16th, Governor Glenn Youngkin and the Virginia Department of Education released a draft model policy that would remove and replace 2021's model policies on the treatment of transgender (trans) and non-binary youth in schools


I strongly SUPPORT this measure.

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<p>I strongly support this measure.  Gender ideology is unproven, unnecessary and politically driven.  By supporting “gender affirming” surgery and identity, it places gender ahead of the basic human right to be a person regardless of gender.  It is outrageous to allow children to do this because as children, they don’t have the ability or experience to make such a life changing decision.  Children should be focused on learning, not making life alternating decisions.  The fundamental duty of patents is to guide and protect their children so schools should support the parents, not circumvent them.  All of this goes hand in hand with religious freedom because it is faith, not gender, that defines a person and a society.  What you believe in is who you are. </p>


In favor of changes

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I am in favor of the Board of Education making changes to acknowledge the parental rights parents have over their children.


Strongly oppose this cruel policy

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Stop picking on our most vulnerable kids!!  Our children should be safe and respected at at school, and this parent supports trans kids!!


Transgender Policy

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I support Governor Youngkin's policy.


Strongly oppose

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Strongly oppose this transphobic policy that will harm kids.


Support and protect transgender and non-binary kids

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<p>I strongly oppose the guidelines proposed by Gov. Youngkin which will create a hostile environment for transgender and non-binary school age children. I am a mother of five and support an environment where ALL children can be validated as their true selves. These proposed policies will serve to create a hostile environment and will harm countless kids. I am appalled that this is being framed as beneficial IN ANY WAY. Disgusted by this agenda.  </p>


'Gender Identity' is John Money's pseudoscience

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The notion that "gender ≠ sex" is borne of quack Dr. John Money, who poisoned & further mutilated a boy David Reimer, whose circumcision was botched, bc ackchually he had a "female gender identity." Reimer committed suicide as a result.

Such demonstrated the fallaciousness of gender science, and it should not be forced or introduced to children. Additionally, heterosexuality is the optimal path - kids shouldn't be deliberately lead to alternative & unnatural (like trans) lifestyles!


STRONGLY OPPOSE Youngkin's transgender policy

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<p>I oppose Youngkin's transgender policy.   After decades of ignoring transgender issues, our society is finally recognizing that it exists.  Let's not go back in time.  Transgender students who are not acknowledged are at high risk for depression and suicide.  Automatically refusing to use their pronouns or name and keeping them from using the bathroom of the gender they identify with will only bring them more harassment.  Certainly parents can be in the conversation.   But your procedures begin with denying to recognize the transgender student.    </p>


I am completely opposed.


I support the parents.

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Parents have the responsibility to ensure the health of their children (mental and physical). Children are not property of the state. Therefore, parents ought to be notified of their children's conditions


Strongly Oppose

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<p>Even proposing this policy is extremely dangerous for trans youth. It is harmful, hurtful, and I strongly oppose. </p>


Oppose model policy, which is harmful and not compliant with the Code of Virginia

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I am a Virginia parent, and I oppose the 2022 revision to the Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools. I do not believe the revisions are compliant with § 22.1-23.3 of the Code of Virginia, as the policies offer no protection for transgender students in public schools, which was clearly the intent of the law. The policies are not consistent with the evidence-based best practices suggested by mental health and medical professionals who work with this population.

Furthermore, the revised model policies create additional barriers for transgender students and place them at greater risk. The students most at risk are those who live in unsupportive environments, and the model policies would prevent these students from being to speak to a trusted adult at school. I do not wish to see my children’s classmates and friends harmed by this uninformed policy.

This policy fails to protect the privacy, dignity, and respect for all students and parents in Virginia schools and must be rejected.


Adamantly support parental rights over political agenda

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Parents are ultimately responsible for their children and their education, not the government. Put policy decision making in the hands of the parents and away from the government.


Strongly Oppose this Policy

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<p>As a parent of two graduates of public schools and as an early childhood educator, I strongly oppose this policy. Public schools exist to serve all children and all families. That includes children and families from the LGBTQ community. The medical community is resolute in its recommendations for supporting LGBTQ students - with kindness and respect, not bullying and derision. Virginia has long been a beacon of progress to other Southern states. We need to maintain our momentum of inclusion and respect for diversity, not slide into the path taken by Florida and other states. </p>


Do not do this.


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<p>I 100% support gov Yougkin in trying to protect our children. The state should absolutely not have the right to usurp parental rights. You are male or female,  no other options. Even the most primitive tribesmen can figure that out! We are in a society that is not at all trying to help or protect our children, but rather force them to become someone they aren't in an attempt to inflict on them a set of twisted ideas devoid of reason and basic human nature. Tha k you gov Younkin for standing up for truth! </p>


Transgenderism is a mental disorder

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I understand the desires of the children suffering from transgenderism to be treated fairly and with respect. It should go without saying that these are children regardless of their mental state and it’s for this reason that they rightly deserve to be treated justly. It is my firm belief that the children who claim to be transgender should be seen by a mental health professional to be diagnosed with gender dysphoria provided that the child actually meets the minimum diagnostic criteria (see DSM-5 page 452 for details).

Providing children with adequate mental health treatment is vital for the future of our state. In addition, children do not have the mental capability to make decisions about their body for the sole reason that they are incapable of making adult decisions on account of their brains not being fully developed. This is the reason for many things that children are banned from taking part in i.e., drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, hard drugs, voting, enlisting in the armed forces, etc.

In short, yes, we should treat every child with decency, but no, we should not allow them to choose to use the opposite sexes designated facilities based on the status of their mental disorder.


Protect Children and Support Their Parents

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I strongly support the guidance proposed by Governor Youngkin on this matter. As other commenters have noted, almost all children who experience gender dysphoria grow out of it by adulthood. (Singh, Bradley, Zucker, 2021.) In light of that, extreme caution is appropriate before allowing a young person to pursue life-altering surgeries, treatments, etc., and parents of such children deserve our full support.

It is reasonable and appropriate for parents not to want their children to be transitioned medically or socially and to protect them from the influence of ideologues--or worse--who do not have their children's best interests at heart in promoting transgenderism. These guidelines provide strong guardrails to protect students from being led in irreversible directions and strong support for parents who are acting on behalf of their children. For those students who do in fact identify as transgender, the guidelines provide a reasonable, parent-involved pathway for that.

The children of this commonwealth need our protection, and their parents need our full support. Thank you, Governor Youngkin, for proposing a rule that will do both.

As a final note, I regret the need to make these comments anonymously, but I have observed that, in certain sectors, support of common-sense policies like this one can, in the current climate, result in formal and informal employment-related and other retaliation.


Dear Virginia Dept of Education,

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

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

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

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

Sincerely,
Danielle Harper
102 Sea Biscuit Run
Suffolk, VA 23435

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Dear Virginia Dept of Education,<br /><br />Schools should never secretly socially transition students and keep the child's new name, pronouns and gender identities from parents. I am pleased and relieved that the Virginia Department of Education's revised model policies support parental rights and ensure that school employees don't cut parents out of critical decisions for their children. <br /><br />The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued "model policies" in 2021 that encouraged every school district in Virginia to hide a child's new gender identity from parents who choose to affirm the child's biological sex. Under Governor Youngkin's leadership, the VDOE's revised policies make it clear that all children should be valued and parents' rights and beliefs should be respected. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools keep parents involved in major decisions in their children's lives.<br /><br />The 2021 VDOE "model policies" encouraged schools to create "a plan (that) may include addressing the student at school with their name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity while using the legal name and pronoun associated with the sex assigned at birth when communicating with parents or guardians." <br /><br />I strongly support the revised policies that end this practice. Virginia schools should not drive a wedge between parents and their emotionally vulnerable children. Virginia school districts, including those who have already communicated their plans to ignore the 2022 revised model policies, should put an end to secret Gender Support Plans now.<br /><br />Sincerely,
<br />Danielle Harper
<br />102 Sea Biscuit Run<br />Suffolk, VA 23435<br /><img src="http://admin.phone2action.com/email/open/leg/657523/148678567" width="1" height="1" />


Strongly OPPOSE

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These policies will harm transgender kids in our schools and should not be approved. Protect LGBTQ kids!


As parents of 4, we fully support the proposed model policies

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<p>As parents of four children, we fully support the newly proposed model policies of VDOE.  Remember that these are our children. We have taken on the responsibility and cost of raising them and also the responsibility of teaching them how to get along in society.  The idea that state educators would attempt to arrogate to themselves that authority is an insult to us personally as parents and would be an assault on the very foundations of a free society.  </p>


STRONGLY SUPPORT GOV. YOUNGKIN'S POLICY!  Let parents be heard loud and clear!

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This policy not only protects all children but most especially those who are the most vulnerable being taken advantage of by the trans ideologues.  Why would anyone keep anything from the parents?  Because parents are the adults who have the best interest for their own children.  Not the teachers/school board who want to advance some ideology at the expense of someone else's children.  Can any of the children go after their school board/teachers if they should ever regret doing anything irreversible to their bodies because of what they were led to believe or pressured to do?


“Mental Health Professionals” against parental involvement are predators.

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School boards need to act quickly to remove any “mental health professionals” that don’t want parents involved. You think we send our kids to school while we sit in the dark and you groom their sexuality? Please school boards- investigate these predators immediately.


I Fully Support Gov. Youngkin

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As a wife and mother, I am in full support of Gov. Youngkins actions regarding parental rights. If all would take a step back and think about what is at stake if our rights  as parents are continually chipped away. I do NOT co-parent with the state, nor do I support the idea that state officials, education officials or medical officials know more about what is right regarding my children than I do

What  the Gov is proposing is a return to common sense and an acknowledgement of the simple basic fundamental biological TRUTH that biological sex matters, it must be defended, respected and protected. What is being proposed doesn't even harm those who identify within the " gender -fluid" or " trans" community either because schools will still have single use bathrooms, changing rooms and facilities they can use while at the same time maintaining the rightful privacy and separation of the sexes. What the Gov is proposing keeps the decision making in the hands of the parents....not the state.

I support the Governor!


All this will accomplish is hurting kids

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<p>I oppose this because all it will accomplish is hurting kids. I’ve been a teacher for 17 years and have taught several trans kids throughout the years. All they want is to be called their preferred names and pronouns and to be treated like every other kid. That’s it. There’s no other agenda. By not allowing these kids to be who they are and actively punishing them for it there will be a lot more suicides and attempted suicides. That’s just a fact. All this accomplishes is making kids depressed and suicidal. Those outcomes are the exact opposite goals of what our education system should uphold. Stop wasting time and tax payers money on stupid devise policies like this and work on policies that will help everyone. Policies that help diminish climate change, promote equal rights, and a good education. Also, if you want to make great educational decisions ask teachers what they should be. We’re the ones in the classrooms and we know what needs to be done and no one takes us seriously. As a teacher, this policy is not only unnecessary, it’s also reckless and endangers children. Do better. </p>


Ann Marie Barrett (LCPS counselor) arrested for sexual relationship with transgender student

Leave it to school mental health professional? NOT MY KIDS!

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I don’t want the school counselors and “ school mental health professionals” caring for my children. Schools need to stay in their lanes. You are there to teach. Period!


I oppose this problematic and discriminatory Model policy

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Despite the lofty and inclusive sounding title, the proposed Model actually encourages exclusion, discrimination, and makes schools less safe for our already vulnerable transgender students.  Research clearly indicates that policies such as this proposed Model will very likely result in increased bullying, abuse, and assaults directed at transgender students. It will also probably increase the already distressing and disproportionately high rates of suicidality for this population that needs our support.


Strongly Support

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I fully support Governor Youngkin and believe parents have the right to know if their child is struggling with gender dysphoria and to help them in whatever way they believe is best.

The new policies protect the fundamental religious liberty interests of personnel and students. This is important to me as a teacher who truly cares about each of my students.


I fully support  Gov Younkin policy on protecting our children.

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Parents have the full right to teach their children on FAITH AND MORALS. teachers need to pay attention to teaching.


Vigorously Opposed - Leave trans kids alone! Just be nice to them. It’s not hard.

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Trans kids have it rough already. This policy will make their lives even worse and drive more of them to suicide. Is that really what we want? More dead kids?


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I support Gov. Youngkin’s transgender policy for schools.
Thank you for protecting the right of parents to raise their children without interference.


Fully support

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Support parents making decisions in the best interest for their child.


Oppose- mental health Healthcare professional

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As a healthcare provider who has worked directly with trans and non binary teenagers in mental health facilities, I strongly oppose the proposed changes to the current model. Trans and non binary students deserve to have a safe place to be fully themselves regardless of their home environment, and these policy changes could lead to dangerous situations for trans students in their home environment.
Personal experience as well as an abundance of scientific research point to the importance of having safe and accepting adults in trans student lives and how honoring a person’s gender identity, chosen name, and pronouns, is suicide prevention in its purest form. This policy, if enacted, will have a direct and intensely negative impact on the mental health and physical well-being of trans students. This is not about parental rights, all students deserve acceptance and protection regardless of what school district they are in.


I oppose the guidelines

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I am opposed to the new guidelines. As a parent of a trans identifying child, we moved here from another state. In the former school, teachers and and students misgendered and misnamed our child with glee and malicious intent. The effect on our child was as harmful as you would imagine. Moving to Virginia and our child enrolled in a school where teachers and students gave the our kiddo respect and consideration by using their preferred name and gender when referring to them. The effect it had on our child was measurable. They felt safe and validated in their identity. There was a noticeable change in overall happiness. Grades were quite improved. They went on to graduate with honors, something I did not expect a few years earlier.

I get that some people's personal or religious convictions do not align with transgenderism, but one can and should respect the identity of another. Teachers and other staffers are there to serve all students of various backgrounds. One's personal beliefs should not affect the dignity and respect one should show to another person.

Regarding the parents' rights section of these guidelines: it seems that many kids do not feel safe coming out to their parents immediately. There are many good reasons for this. Sometime a kid needs to try their identity out in a safe place away from the home environment. That's ok. I believe that what gets lost in the parents' rights debate is the right of self determination of the child. Some people I know have summed up the issue with saying - "it comes down to who owns children: the state or the parents." If one pulls back a bit from this debate, one should able to see that no one "owns" anyone. If a child needs to keep their preferred name and gender from their parents, that should be their choice. They have their reasons.

So in short - public servants such as administrators, teachers, and support staff are there to serve the needs of all students. Personal convictions about the lifestyle choices of an individual are not as important as serving the students. Children are individuals, have autonomy, and their identity choices should be respected.

Thank you for taking time to read.


I fully oppose this.


Educator 35 years- you would feel different if it was your daughter that got raped in the bathroom.

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Any teacher that advocates against parental rights should resign effective immediately. You aren’t there to push your moral agendas onto children. You are there to teach. What’s the big deal about boys using the girls bathroom? Would you feel different if that were your daughter that got raped in the bathroom of my local high school by a dude in a skirt?


Protect Trans Youth

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Being transgender only hurts a child when they're denied the right to be who they are. They know better than anyone else how they feel inside.


Let's stop, look and listen

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The new policies respect the natural role of parents in the care of their children during school, athletics and other activities.

More and more transgender men and women are coming forward with great regrets and stories of having been pushed into transitioning.
Parents know their children’s needs better than anyone. If children are struggling with gender dysphoria, they need guidance and emotional support from their 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.

Student participation in sex-specific athletics, school activities and events should be determined by sex, e.g., for overnight travel accommodations and locker rooms.

Students should use the bathrooms that correspond to their sex. Single-user bathrooms and facilities should be made available in accessible areas and provided with appropriate signage, indicating accessibility for all students.

The new policies protect the fundamental religious liberty interests of personnel and students.     (Source: VA Catholic Conference)


Oppose / Please read the full proposal carefully!

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I encourage and beg everyone to read the whole proposal and the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which is used to justify the proposal.  The amount of name-calling and put-downs on this comment site is distressing; it takes away from the important issue of how we educate children and how we can keep them safe.   I appreciate all who have posted thoughtfully and respectfully. Our children are watching and learning from us.

I have read not only the proposal and the 14th Amendment, but also hundreds of comments on both sides as I formed my own opinion, which is:

I oppose this proposal for multiple reasons:

1) If put into effect, it will endanger trans and other youth. Whatever our beliefs about gender, I hope we can all agree to prioritize the lives and safety of our students, as the first part of this proposal suggests. Many others have cited the statistics concerning the dangers posed to trans and those with other gender identities when they are "outed" to their families who may strongly disagree or disapprove. Our top priority as educators and parents should be the safety and well-being of our children.  Only when they are safe can they learn anything in terms of academics.

2) This proposal inappropriately requires teachers to be in the middle of family discussions of gender identity. Teachers should not be required to be in the middle of family conflicts/disagreements, or conversations about intimate topics of a personal nature.

3) The justification presented in the proposal is faulty.  The 14th Amendment is one of three amendments added to the U.S. Constitution during Reconstruction to ensure formerly enslaved people's rights were legally recognized. The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to those born in the United States; it does not address gender or parental rights.

4) My personal experience as a middle school teacher (17 years) contradicts this proposal.  Middle school is a tough time during which adolescents are trying to figure out who they are and how they belong in the world. I have taught multiple students who have suffered depression until they were able to affirm their gender identity. Doing so allowed them to focus on academics.  No teacher I know is teaching students to use different pronouns right now, but all Virginia teachers will be required to do so if this new proposal is put in place.

5) This proposal does not protect all parental and students' rights. If I understand the proposal correctly, a teacher may choose to use biological birth pronouns if the child's preferred pronouns go against the teacher's personal belief system, even if the parents request "they/them" or other pronouns.  However, a teacher may not use the student's preferred pronouns, even if that is in keeping with the teacher's personal belief system, unless formally requested by a parent.  Thus, the proposal shows bias and favoritism of certain belief systems in its unequal application and respect of parental rights.

Please do not put this 2022 proposal into effect.


Y’all suck

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Do better, you don’t even try to protect LGBT youth


I support Youngkin's Model Policies AND I actually read the doc

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I am a mother, VA resident, fitness industry vet, high school athlete, and former teacher. The bill is basically 2 parts: parents' rights to raise their own minor children (1-17 yrs of age) per 14th amendment, and school policies regarding minor children.

The 1st part concerns requiring schools to grant access of school records regarding the minor to parents, to notify parents of their minor's suicide risk if any, and to reveal and not instruct teachers to conceal minor student info from the parents. The minor can change a legal name upon the parent's application to do so. I support parents making executive decisions for and with their minor children, and schools providing access of info to parents regarding minor children. Schools say they support parental involvement, and children do better when their parents have open lines of communication, and trust, with their schools.

The 2nd part involves school accommodations. Sports, sex-specific activities, and bathroom/locker facility use are determined by biological sex (not "sex-assigned at birth;" most of us learn our child's sex at the 20 wk ultrasound, or through BLOODWORK done in utero weeks earlier; IVF users can choose the sex of the embryo before implantation). Single-use facilities can be requested. Pronoun usage is dictated by the sex on a minor's official student record. Under this bill, a parent is able to initiate a change in a minor's student record. I support this, especially the single-use facility option, which can benefit many minors and school employees, not just those with conflicting identities.

Sports must be sex-specific: males and females have different anatomical structure, lung capacity, oxygen uptake, endurance, etc. Girls have always gotten the short end of the stick here. I can't tell you how many females I've worked with who are trained as if they are high school boys and injure their knees and hips, or girls who try to lift like their boyfriends and are frustrated with and injured by their lack of ability and success. We still have a long way to go in not coaching high school girls as if they are "weak men." Allowing biological males (no matter how early hormone treatments begin) to play women's sports sets females back decades and offers no challenge to male competitors who are happy to outrun, outlift, and outswim girls. I support sex-specific sports and training.

Restricting pronouns to what appears on a minor's record vs. a minor's unofficial request (which can vary frequently based on gender identities such as aceflux, which falls under the large umbrella of gender fluidity), protects teachers and other minors from confusion and compelled speech. It is nearly impossible to keep up with gender identities and pronouns as they are limited only by imagination.  I support this as it sets a clear standard that everyone can follow consistently.


Strongly oppose divisive policy as individual & educator. Please help VA come back together!

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These model policies are poorly thought out, dangerous, and fueling polarization at the detriment of our democracy and our young people.

First, the idea that a child needs written documentation to be called a name that is not derivative of their legal name is oppressive for more than just transgender children. Many students enjoy being called names other than those bestowed upon them (without their consent) upon birth. It is oppressive of teachers’ right to respect the wishes of their students & show them they value their individual choices to take away the ability to call a kid what they ask to be called.

Second, the idea that a student would need to codify their gender identity in their permanent record in order to be respected restricts children’s ability to learn about themselves through experience. It will scare and shame and confuse children, who are in a pivotal time of their lives, discovering themselves. The idea that gender must be 100% certain to be valid or respected is toxic. Adolescence is the only time most children will ever have an opportunity to try out different forms of expression safely, without their livelihood being at risk. Your model policies take this safety away. Rather than decreasing confusion, this will increase it. Repression produces exponentially more negative outcomes than freedom of expression ever will.

Third, outright banning trans students from competing in sports with their correct gendered peers under any circumstance sends the message that no matter what a trans person does, you will not see them as who they are. The Olympics has guidelines for participation for trans athletes. If the world’s most rigorous amateur athletic competition can recognize the need for inclusion, surely high-school level sports can do the same. Your policy sends the message that trans people are less than people and don’t deserve the same basic rights as their cisgendered peers. Additionally, it flat out ignores the existence of intersex people, who make up nearly 2% of the world’s population and do not fit neatly into the boxes of “male” and “female”.

Fourth, the idea that a parent has a right to control their child’s expression and experience at all times is outdated and willfully ignorant. Privacy and freedom of expression are critical to proper psychological development. If children are hiding their identities from their parents, it is because they feel or know that their mental and/or physical safety will be at risk if they share that information. Forcing children to share their identities before they are ready will lead to negative outcomes. Worse, many children will repress their identities out of fear, rather than risk the damage from their unsupportive parents. Repression will hurt them in one way or another. For some young adults, repression is too emotionally painful to bear, and they may develop suicidal thoughts or feelings. This has been shown in study after study. Repression never causes these children to stop being trans, it just causes them harm.

Lastly, this policy has induced fear for many children, parents, educators and staff across the state. It has also rallied up old bigotry and hatred. It has brought homophobic and transphobic language and ideas to the forefront, and seeks to normalize them. This divide will never create the world that any of us want. If you wish for a peaceful world with happy children and thriving communities, this sort of policy will never bring it about. We must find away to support and protect each other. This policy does not protect anyone. It will not stop assaults from happening, it will instead churn up more violence and fear. Hate begets hate, and this set of policies is hateful.

I hope you will consider taking this whole directive off of the table, and instead looking for solutions that will bring our people back together. We need a leader who can find middle ground, or help create it where none can be found. Not just for the sake of your re-election, but for the sake of our state and our nation. Our democracy has been so incredibly unstable for years, and we risk falling into ruin if we cannot pull back together.


change in Trans policy is wrong and promotes misunderstanding and hate.

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Strongly oppose. Don’t judge all Trans persons by the actions of a few. My neighbor’s daughter is trans and is a wonderful young man. I’ve known him since he was a three year old little girl. Your changes on state Trans policy is harmful to many young people and promotes misunderstanding and hate. Signed a registered voter in Chedapeake


Strongly oppose.


As an Educator for 35 years....

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<p>As a human for almost 60 years and an educator of 35 years, I find it incomprehensible as to why some people do not believe that ALL children are worthy of love, respect, dignity, compassion, and understanding.  Kids are the best, and they ALL deserve unconditional love!  It's really that simple.  Rather than worrying about somebody's name or where they go to the bathroom, perhaps helping ALL children feel loved, valued, respected, and worthy should be where educational priorities are directed.  </p>


Only an absolute pervert would advocate for boys to use little girls locker rooms and bathrooms

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Get some morals you woke fools!


Support. Yes to Parent’s Rights

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<p>It is the Right and Responsibility of parents to be the primary educator of our children, no matter where they receive their education or participate in activities. Please allow them this! Thank you!  </p>