Strongly Support Governor Youngkin's Policy Changes

Strongly Supported by Anonymous Concerned Parent & Citizen

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I commend and support the Governor’s 2022 model policy. We need leadership against social engineering of our precious children, starting with strong support for parental rights in schools.  Sadly, the world will never be a perfect place for children though we should try to make it better. Tragically, some parents are not good parents and will not understand their children’s struggles. We cannot change that on so many levels, but most parents are their child’s best advocate and need and want to be informed about concerns they are dealing with at school. We can continue to make efforts to support all children, including those with gender dysphoria, without trampling on the rights of other children. Trans groups across the country are very organized and vocal in support of the trans agenda in Virginia’s schools. Most parents support Governor Youngkin’s policy and are busy working and raising their families, so do not interpret their absence of comments here as being disinterested in the well-being of their children.

I care about all children, especially those who are struggling with a mental/psychological illness, including gender dysphoria. These children need our compassion, support, and yes, professional help, and schools can help with that. Changing school policies that negatively affect most students to work around a few children is not the answer. Trans advocates threaten there will be grave danger to children who identify as trans if policies are not changed to accommodate them. There is no guarantee those superficial changes will be real remedies for children who identify as trans and there seems to be little concern about whether those changes are detrimental to other children and maybe even long term to students with gender dysphoria themselves.  Children are immature and impressionable and not the best judge of what is in their best interest and adults must be rational, careful, and deliberate with setting policy. Children who identify as trans do not have the right to require schools rework around their needs, ignoring the rights of all other students. Parents of children who identify as trans also have the right to home school their children if they feel schools are not tailored to meet their individual child’s specific educational needs. Some parents take this route for their different reasons. Many trans advocates seem to advocate the rights of trans youth even when it tramples on the rights and sensibilities of others.

There have always been children with different personal tendencies toward being what is considered as more masculine or more feminine traits. We should promote respect for that full range of expression, but we do not have to confuse most children and encourage them to question if they are transgendered because they are dealing with normal child development issues and the stresses of adolescence. Trans issues should not even be a topic in school with young children. For the few children who have expressed gender dysphoria, schools can provide individual support; however, we currently do not understand enough about gender dysphoria to justify most of the school accommodations advocated. We must also highly question the current explosion of trans children and of parents of trans children and who/what is behind this trend!

Advocated trans policies are destroying opportunities for many girls in sports and subjecting them to physical harm by making them compete against biological males while totally ignoring the reality of their physical advantages over biological females.  It is wrong to require students to share personal spaces with students of the opposite sex against their will and to ostracize them for speaking up about their discomfort. It is dishonest to require students and teachers to use pronouns for students which do not correspond with their biological sex. We can seek reasonable accommodations where possible for children who are conflicted about their gender identity, such as having some gender-neutral bathroom and locker room spaces and we can call them by their preferred name; however, it is wrong to push many of the other advocated changes!

At some point American society will realize the harm to children the trans agenda is promoting. Some countries in other parts of the world are now recognizing how misguided and dangerous a lot of the "trans affirming care” has been and a few brave sources are speaking out. Here, it has been a huge distraction in schools, is unnecessarily confusing to children, and a difficult issue for parents and teachers to deal with. School resources are already stretched thin in their core mission of teaching academic studies and our children are behind after COVID lockdowns!

We need to show compassion and support to all children and to strengthen anti bullying programs in schools for all children, including those struggling students who identify as trans.  The truth is there are no guarantees that changing school policies for everyone else to accommodate children who identify as trans will make life easier for them or save them from harm/normal growing pains or remedy their psychological issues. Forcing many of these accommodations on others will not promote trans acceptance and will only serve to foster anti trans sentiment. One day when we understand more about gender dysphoria and some of the "gender affirming care”, actions, and treatments being currently advocated by some medical and counseling “professionals “, we will realize the harm we have perpetrated on so many children. Unbelievably, so many people have lost their way and rationality on this subject! We have allowed trans activists to distort our thinking!

I grew up in a modest household, as many children still do. I would have been mortified and scared to have a biological male in the female bathroom or locker room.  It would have been an injustice to take away my opportunities in sports to accommodate boys who said they identified as girls. Biological boys do have undeniable physical advantages over biological girls in most sports. It would have been dishonest to require me to call a boy a girl/she or a girl a boy/he. We need to maintain sanity and honesty on this subject. My family, my husband’s family, and many others I know suffered great harm as guinea pigs in the failed, forced busing experiment in Richmond started in 1970 and it did not improve Richmond’s schools. Do not use children again for an issue which we still have little understanding about!

In closing, I am obviously very passionate about this subject and about nurturing and protecting ALL children! I am not a “hateful, transphobic, right wing, religious, nut job.” I am signing my name “anonymous” because I do not wish to subject myself or my family to the violence and vitriol that may be projected my way by some who disagree with my opinion. Sadly, there used to be a time when we could all express our different thoughts openly and learn from each other. Unfortunately, society is not in that place now--a shameful loss!


This policy will harm transgender students

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<p>I am horrified by the 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools."  It will cause significant harm to transgender students in the state and I am fully in agreement with the comments submitted by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.  All students deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and this proposed policy change completely fails in that regard.  Do not implement this proposed policy.  </p>


I oppose this policy

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I think it’s outrageous that you are stripping the privacy and safety from non cis students. This is disgusting


Transgender is real!

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"I have a 10-year-old trans grandchild aged 10.  We started noticing it at around ages 3-4. I became persistent, consistent, and insistent that my grandchild who was born an identical girl, truly identified as a boy and will always. Health professionals have confirmed this. Those who are not professionals or family should stay out of my grandchild's business which belongs to no one else."}">I have a 10-year-old trans grandchild aged 10. We started noticing it at around ages 3-4. I became persistent, consistent, and insistent that my grandchild who was born an identical girl, truly identified as a boy and will always. Health professionals have confirmed this. Those who are not professionals or family should stay out of my grandchild's business which belongs to no one else.


Strongly oppose proposed Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students

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As a parent and former Virginia public school teacher, I strongly oppose Governor Youngkin's proposed model policies for the treatment of transgender students, and I support the current model policies adopted on March 4, 2021 and currently in effect. It is the parents' responsibility, not the government's, to foster a close, trusting and nurturing relationship with their children; if a child isn't comfortable sharing his/her/their identity with their parents, then that is a family issue in which the state should not interfere. Further, it has been well documented that there are parents who will kick their child out of their home, and others whose verbal and/or physical abuse of their child will be triggered and/or will escalate, upon learning of their child's gender identity. The proposed policy will therefore promote, and result in, grave harm to trans youth. It has also been well documented that policies such as the one proposed increase the bullying and harassment of trans youth, especially in school settings, and also increase an already sky high suicide rate among trans youth.  Therefore, the proposed policy will promote, and result in, the abuse, bullying, discrimination, and harassment of trans youth; will exacerbate the trans youth homelessness and suicide rates; and will result in government interference with and intrusion into family relationships. Further, the proposed policy will violate the trans student's constitutional right to privacy, safety and individual autonomy, as well as their first amendment rights to free speech and to practice their religion, or no religion at all. Neither teachers nor school administrators/staff have a constitutional right to call a student by whatever name or gender pronoun the teacher or administrator chooses (because of their rights to free speech and/or religious practices and/or any other reason), or to harass or discriminate against any student or to put their own free speech and religion practice rights above the student's --and, in the case of parents who support their trans student's desired name and pronoun usage--their parents' rights.  The Youngkin administration's proposed policy is clearly not evidence based and tragically promotes the legal discrimination of trans youth and their rights (and the rights of parents who support their  trans child's gender/name/pronun choices); the physical and psychological harm to and abuse of trans youth; and the Youngkin administration's  "specific viewpoint" which is "aimed at achieving" the administration's "cultural and social transformation in schools" (an ideological viewpoint and cultural/social transformation that isn't shared, incidentally, by a majority of Virginians).


OPPOSEEEE!!!!!

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<p>I am a queer student in a high school and I have seen first hand how much hate queer students receive, this will not help and will increase bullying. </p>


I oppose this policy

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"I am of the generation that didn’t consider women as human beings, let alone blacks or gays, and now we face the same issue with regard to transgender people. We’ve made a lot of progress but the VDOE policy would set us back. As a grandparent of a transgender child in a VA high school who is fearful of going to the bathroom during the day, I think the VDOE would push us - and my grandchild - and our society backward."}'>I am of the generation that didn’t consider women as human beings, let alone blacks or gays, and now we face the same issue with regard to transgender people. We’ve made a lot of progress but the VDOE policy would set us back. As a grandparent of a transgender child in a VA high school who is fearful of going to the bathroom during the day, I think the VDOE would push us - and my grandchild - and our society backward.


Strongly Oppose


Oppose

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Just like roe v wade people trying to tell you what you can and cannot do with your body. Stay out family business if you are not in the family then it’s NAYA!


Strongly oppose. This hurts kids.

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<p>This will only hurt children. Please don’t do it. </p>


OPPOSE


Oppose


Model Policies: Strongly OPPOSE!!

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<p>I strongly oppose! These are dangerous and will not help change things it will only have drastic negative side effects!! </p>


Trans rights are human rights

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Transphobic policies will only cause harm to trans kids.


Transphobia must be stopped

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As a trans student I think transphobia shouldn’t be a thing, before I was trans too. The amount of hate i and many others get in very unfair.


Protect Trans and non binary youth

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"LGBTQI+ students are already at a higher risk of suicide and self-harm because of the isolation and stigmatization they face in day to day life. The hardships they face should be reduced not made into policy norms. I oppose the model policy that the Governor and Department of Education propose. \nI went to school in the 80s and 90s and I remember the bullying, discrimination and lack of support that kids experienced if they didn’t fit within the gender norms and stereotypes. We shouldn’t go back to those days when it was acceptable to bully and ostracize people for being different. It created more problems than accepting people for who they were. \n\nMaking kids feel threatened for who they are messes up the learning environment for everyone. The students end up feeling threatened and are more likely to become defensive, aggressive, disruptive. Or they become hopelessly depressed and can’t achieve their academic potential.  It makes authority figures into bullies which undermines their effectiveness in an education setting. \n\nKids should be able to join the sports teams and use the restrooms that match their gender identity. Teachers and administrators should show students the care, compassion, respect and dignity of calling them by their preferred name and pronouns. \n\nThere must be accountability to prevent bullying and harassment. Students must not be outed without their consent because it puts them at risk from abuse and neglect if their parents and families don’t support them for who they are. \n\nThe world is a much more tolerant place and that’s a good thing. We’ve come along way from the rigidity of gender identity stereotypes of the 20th Century. Don’t turn back the clocks. Give LGBTQI+ students the safe space they need to get a good education, the enrichment of extracurricular activities, the social and mental health development of a supportive and open-minded community. "}'>LGBTQI+ students are already at a higher risk of suicide and self-harm because of the isolation and stigmatization they face in day to day life. The hardships they face should be reduced not made into policy norms. I oppose the model policy that the Governor and Department of Education propose.
I went to school in the 80s and 90s and I remember the bullying, discrimination and lack of support that kids experienced if they didn’t fit within the gender norms and stereotypes. We shouldn’t go back to those days when it was acceptable to bully and ostracize people for being different. It created more problems than accepting people for who they were.

Making kids feel threatened for who they are messes up the learning environment for everyone. The students end up feeling threatened and are more likely to become defensive, aggressive, disruptive. Or they become hopelessly depressed and can’t achieve their academic potential. It makes authority figures into bullies which undermines their effectiveness in an education setting.

Kids should be able to join the sports teams and use the restrooms that match their gender identity. Teachers and administrators should show students the care, compassion, respect and dignity of calling them by their preferred name and pronouns.

There must be accountability to prevent bullying and harassment. Students must not be outed without their consent because it puts them at risk from abuse and neglect if their parents and families don’t support them for who they are.

The world is a much more tolerant place and that’s a good thing. We’ve come along way from the rigidity of gender identity stereotypes of the 20th Century. Don’t turn back the clocks. Give LGBTQI+ students the safe space they need to get a good education, the enrichment of extracurricular activities, the social and mental health development of a supportive and open-minded community.


you can't know what it's like for these kids

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Try to have a little sympathy for these kids who already feel like they don't fit in. Just because you don't understand, you don't have to try to make them be something they're not.


Joey B.

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Virginia’s policy hurts LGBQI+ students, and I oppose the policy.


ANTI-LGBTQ policies are for political points, not practical progress

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The proposed new policies that would change the way LGBTQ+ youth are treated in VA public schools will only cause harm in the name of politics. Policing teachers from being safe people for lgbtq youth will only increase teacher burnout and stress and will absolutely lead to more kids in non-affirming homes harming and/or killing themselves.

Please leave the policies as are and choose life. Regardless of whether you think a child should be lgbtq+, statistically they WILL harm themselves at a higher rate if cut off from safe adults. This policy will directly lead to more dead kids... In the name of political power. Very concerned.

RVA resident. 23230


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Superintendent Jillian Balow

Office of the Superintendent

PO Box 2120

Richmond, VA 23218

Re: Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools

On behalf of the Human Rights Campaign’s more than three million members and supporters nationwide, we submit this comment in response to the Virginia Department of Education’s (the “Department”)  proposed 2022 Draft Model Policies (“model policies”). As the nation’s largest organization working on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, we are deeply troubled by the proposed changes to the model policies that roll back current privacy protections and practices for transgender students.

Schools that provide secure, supportive, and affirming spaces enable students to realize their full potential.

As state legislatures continue to whittle down education support systems for LGBTQ+ students across the country, ensuring that Virginia schools are able to provide secure, supportive, and affirming spaces must remain a top priority for the Department of Education.

The singling out of sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom disproportionately disadvantages LGBTQ+ youth, many of whom are profoundly disconnected from their communities and report feeling ostracized and isolated both at home and in school.   These feelings are exacerbated by the propagation of discriminatory state legislation and policy proposals, such as those which prohibit the teaching of LGBTQ+ subjects in classrooms and those which make it difficult for transgender athletes to participate in sports.

Anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination remains a significant barrier to equal access and opportunity in education and results in adverse mental health outcomes. According to the HRC 2018 Youth Report, the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth in school have a critical impact on their health and well-being. In comparison with their non-LGBTQ+ peers, LGBTQ+ youth report much higher rates of depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug use, and lower self-esteem.  35% of LGB youth, 45% of transgender youth, and 40% of questioning youth have seriously considered attempting suicide, compared to 13% of non-LGBTQ+ youth.

Students who are harassed and bullied because of their LGBTQ+ identity are also more likely to experience harmful educational outcomes, including absenteeism, lower GPAs, and a decreased likelihood of pursuing post-secondary education.  Conversely, students with access to LGBTQ+-inclusive curricula and resources, and who participated in Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) at school reported better mental health, higher grade point averages, and felt safer in the classroom.

The new model policies undermine existing protections for transgender students under state and federal law

The proposed model policies would require students to use school bathrooms, locker rooms, and other specified spaces based on their “biological sex”. Segregation by “biological sex” would also apply to participation in school athletics, without regard to a student’s gender identity.

The Department claimed in its proposed model policies that guidelines by the previous administration “disregarded the rights of parents”.  However, now the Department disregards the law. The imposition of these new restrictions are in direct violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act and of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”), both of which protect individuals from unlawful sex discrimination in educational institutions.  Last year, the U.S. Department of Education issued a notice of interpretation that Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County that federal civil rights law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, also protects LGBTQ+ people. The U.S. Department of Education is currently in the process of formal rulemaking to the same effect.

The law is clear: transgender students are protected from discrimination at school on the basis of sex. The case of Gavin Grimm should serve as a stern reminder that subjecting transgender students in Virginia to degrading and stigmatizing policies violates established law. Grimm, a transgender highschool student from Gloucester County, successfully sued the school district after he was denied access to the boys’ restroom. Parents and students across the country have challenged similar discriminatory policies, actions which have proved costly for the involved school districts.

IV. The model policies intentionally stigmatize transgender students and isolate them from their peers.

When students who are transgender are prohibited from using bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity, it impairs their ability to attend school and casts them as outsiders. In fact, many transgender students are forced to use facilities aligning with their sex at birth and many transgender students report feeling unsafe and refrain from using the facilities at all.   As a result, these students are more likely to suffer from a number of physical health problems, including constipation and urinary tract infections.

In addition to restricting the use of certain school facilities, the model policies also prohibit transgender athletes from participating in sports that align with their gender identity.   These proposed policies are in direct conflict with current guidance and are fueled by discrimination, not facts. Despite the wave of anti-transgender sports ban legislation proliferating across the country, most Americans support transgender youth participation in sports. A poll conducted by HRC and Hart Research Group in March 2021 showed that the public is on the side of fairness and equality for transgender student athletes—73% of voters agree that “sports are important in young people’s lives and young transgender people should be allowed opportunities to participate in a way that is safe and comfortable for them.” The public is right - playing sports comes with well-known academic, emotional, mental, and social benefits. Transgender youth should not be shut off from these important opportunities.

The proposed model policies also require legal documentation before a student is permitted to change their name and gender on official school records. However, despite its supposed regard for parental rights, the model policies encourage teachers and other school personnel to ignore a transgender student’s correct name and pronouns even if a parent has requested their specific use in writing.

Using a person’s chosen name, titles, and pronouns is essential to affirming their identity and showing basic respect. Forcing children to endure the wrong name or pronouns, day in and day out, is discrimination, and will serve only to further increase alarming stats on depression among LGBTQ+ youth in Virginia.

Conclusion

In all aspects of their lives, students should be permitted to manage their own identity without interference from parents or schools and encouraged to be their most authentic selves. As written, the Department’s model policies do little more than violate settled law and jeopardize the lives and dignity of our most vulnerable children.

We call on the Department to rescind the proposed model policies in their current form and continue to use the prior administration’s guidance on the treatment of transgender students in Virginia Public Schools.

Sincerely,

Courtnay C. Avant

Legislative Counsel


Strongly Support

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<p>I strongly support the updates Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools as the new policies provide protect the rights of all Virginia students. </p>


Strongly oppose anti-trans policies

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<p>I am a resident of Virginia and mother of three boys in the Fairfax County Public School system. We are deeply grateful to live in an affirming area where my boys all have friends who are part of the LGBTQ community. They are happy, well-adjusted, supported, out kids. I am afraid for these children. The policies proposed by Youngkin are regressive, unscientific, and dangerous. I strongly oppose the policies' being enacted. </p>


Horrified

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Why are you trying to make life harder for kids?


Parents need to know

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<p>I believe that students experiencing gender dysphoria should be counseled by teachers and all school personnel who deal with them,  to speak with their parents about their feelings and concerns around these issues. Parents are the prime caregivers of their children and this bond should not be broken by political trends, teachers unions' misguided ideals, and school districts trying to appease the demands of the lgbtq+ lobbies and personnel. The family is the basic unit of all civilization and must always be considered first and foremost. It is the foundation of society and without that foundation, we will all perish. </p>


Virginia is for lovers, not losers. I STRONGLY oppose this bill.

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Support trans kids, not homophobic, unloving parents. Support the parents who love and support their children for who they.

Virginia is for lovers. Think of all the children who need to be loved now more than ever.


It is a mistake for State guidance to conflict with federal guidance in all areas covered by statute

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“I OPPOSE the guidance.”


Oppose

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School is funded by the public for academic

learning not to be an activists or any other perverted

liberal agendas. Any adult pushing queer or trans ideologies

onto children should registered as a sex offender.

If any boy enters a girls bathroom he should

charged criminally and his parents held accountable as well.

born a boy….always a boy (look what happened  northern va)


WWJD

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I oppose the laws set forth against trans and non-binary students. We should be supporting all off our youths and focusing on their education. Oppression adds unnecessary stress and hardship for these students and their families. They have a right to exist. They belong.


Support trans kids.

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I 100% oppose these policies.
these proposed policies are efforts to damage kids and are not necessary.


Oppose

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I OPPOSE the guidance.
Thank you.


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,
Sharon Kroszkewicz
3537 S George Mason Dr
Alexandria, VA 22302

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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 />Sharon Kroszkewicz
<br />3537 S George Mason Dr<br />Alexandria, VA 22302<br /><img src="http://admin.phone2action.com/email/open/leg/657523/148813821" width="1" height="1" />


Trans rights are human rights, children are human

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By denying children the option to go by their chosen name and pronouns in schools, they would experience a higher likelihood of experiencing mental illness and suicidal thoughts. We can prevent this


I support Governor’s repeal of the transgender policy!

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I support the governor’s transgender policy!


Strongly Support

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I strongly support the changes that the Governor has made.


For Eon

I fold origami cranes in memory of the first person I loved who was openly gay.When they were born, their mother said “Her name is Gabriella.” The nurse heard “Her name is Fabriella.” And Fabi was the gayest baby on earth, all the way until they came out as trans and told us their name was Ian. Ian was doing work with youth experiencing homelessness in Chicago when they started having symptoms like change of vision and dizziness. Since they had graduated with their Master’s from University of Chicago, they went to University Chicago to ask for care. There the doctor looked at them and said “You know, with trans folks a lot of times you’re just psychosomatic. Go home, get some sleep, you’ll feel better in the morning.” A month later Ian lost consciousness and this time a tumor was found on their brain stem. They started treatment immediately and I started flying back and forth to be with them. During that time my anxiety went through the roof. To cope, I started folding origami birds. Every scrap of paper got turned into a bird. On my last trip to Chicago Ian had lost the ability to speak so I was told to learn ASL. Every time their partner Patrice left the room, Ian became a flurry of hand signs. They were telling me letter by letter where in their apartment an engagement ring was hidden. Could I please bring it to the hospital and help them propose. Patrice said yes, and I was going to give the live birds my first 1,000 cranes as a wedding gift. In Japanese culture when you fold 1,000 you get a wish so I’d give them the cranes all in a rainbow plus the wish. On the day that Trump was elected, Ian passed. I keep folding birds as a way to talk to strangers about this person I loved. Ian has to be a lot of people’s first trans person, and they had to do it from their hospital bed.Toward the end of their life Ian asked to be called Eon (like goes on forever) so in memory of Eon I’m folding an infinite amount of cranes, all for the same wish. That wish is for trans and non binary people to be safe in all of our communities.It is a dark day when state lines define which rights my fellow citizens can reliably expect to have respected by their communities, but it breaks my heart that transgender children especially will be targeted by possible changes. I can’t physically be across from you and hand you a crane because I’m submitting comments online. But if you are an VDOE member reading this, I’m asking you to have empathy for the kids like Eon that your decisions will impact and to take action anyway you can to protect them.

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"I fold origami cranes in memory of the first person I loved who was openly gay.\n\nWhen they were born, their mother said “Her name is Gabriella.” \nThe nurse heard “Her name is Fabriella.” \n\nAnd Fabi was the gayest baby on earth, all the way until they came out as trans and told us their name was Ian. \n\nIan was doing work with youth experiencing homelessness in Chicago when they started having symptoms like change of vision and dizziness. Since they had graduated with their Master’s from University of Chicago, they went to University Chicago to ask for care. \n\nThere the doctor looked at them and said “You know, with trans folks a lot of times you’re just psychosomatic. Go home, get some sleep, you’ll feel better in the morning.” \n\nA month later Ian lost consciousness and this time a tumor was found on their brain stem. They started treatment immediately and I started flying back and forth to be with them. \n\nDuring that time my anxiety went through the roof. To cope, I started folding origami birds. Every scrap of paper got turned into a bird. \n\nOn my last trip to Chicago Ian had lost the ability to speak so I was told to learn ASL. Every time their partner Patrice left the room, Ian became a flurry of hand signs. \n\nThey were telling me letter by letter where in their apartment an engagement ring was hidden. Could I please bring it to the hospital and help them propose. \n\nPatrice said yes, and I was going to give the live birds my first 1,000 cranes as a wedding gift. In Japanese culture when you fold 1,000 you get a wish so I’d give them the cranes all in a rainbow plus the wish. \n\nOn the day that Trump was elected, Ian passed. \n\nI keep folding birds as a way to talk to strangers about this person I loved. Ian has to be a lot of people’s first trans person, and they had to do it from their hospital bed.\n\nToward the end of their life Ian asked to be called Eon (like goes on forever) so in memory of Eon I’m folding an infinite amount of cranes, all for the same wish. \n\nThat wish is for trans and non binary people to be safe in all of our communities.\n\n It is a dark day when state lines define which rights my fellow citizens can reliably expect to have respected by their communities, but it breaks my heart that transgender children especially will be targeted by possible changes. \n\nI can’t physically be across from you and hand you a crane because I’m submitting comments online. But if you are an VDOE member reading this, I’m asking you to have empathy for the kids like Eon that your decisions will impact and to take action anyway you can to protect them. \n"}'>I fold origami cranes in memory of the first person I loved who was openly gay.

When they were born, their mother said “Her name is Gabriella.”
The nurse heard “Her name is Fabriella.”

And Fabi was the gayest baby on earth, all the way until they came out as trans and told us their name was Ian.

Ian was doing work with youth experiencing homelessness in Chicago when they started having symptoms like change of vision and dizziness. Since they had graduated with their Master’s from University of Chicago, they went to University Chicago to ask for care.

There the doctor looked at them and said “You know, with trans folks a lot of times you’re just psychosomatic. Go home, get some sleep, you’ll feel better in the morning.”

A month later Ian lost consciousness and this time a tumor was found on their brain stem. They started treatment immediately and I started flying back and forth to be with them.

During that time my anxiety went through the roof. To cope, I started folding origami birds. Every scrap of paper got turned into a bird.

On my last trip to Chicago Ian had lost the ability to speak so I was told to learn ASL. Every time their partner Patrice left the room, Ian became a flurry of hand signs.

They were telling me letter by letter where in their apartment an engagement ring was hidden. Could I please bring it to the hospital and help them propose.

Patrice said yes, and I was going to give the live birds my first 1,000 cranes as a wedding gift. In Japanese culture when you fold 1,000 you get a wish so I’d give them the cranes all in a rainbow plus the wish.

On the day that Trump was elected, Ian passed.

I keep folding birds as a way to talk to strangers about this person I loved. Ian has to be a lot of people’s first trans person, and they had to do it from their hospital bed.

Toward the end of their life Ian asked to be called Eon (like goes on forever) so in memory of Eon I’m folding an infinite amount of cranes, all for the same wish.

That wish is for trans and non binary people to be safe in all of our communities.

It is a dark day when state lines define which rights my fellow citizens can reliably expect to have respected by their communities, but it breaks my heart that transgender children especially will be targeted by possible changes.

I can’t physically be across from you and hand you a crane because I’m submitting comments online. But if you are an VDOE member reading this, I’m asking you to have empathy for the kids like Eon that your decisions will impact and to take action anyway you can to protect them.


Trans Children and People Deserve to Be Safe

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I oppose the DOE's new draft regulations (2022 MODEL POLICIES ON THE PRIVACY, DIGNITY, AND RESPECT FOR ALL STUDENTS AND PARENTS IN VIRGINIA’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS) because they will be harmful to many transgender youths and the transgender community.

Not all parents (or health care providers) are in the best position to "work with their children" or be privy to information regarding pronouns, names, gender, sex, etc., because they do not support their child beyond the pronouns, names, gender, sex, etc. assigned to them at or even before birth. It is often extremely dangerous for the parents of transgender youth to be privy to this information. And even if parents are affirming and supportive of their [transgender] children, individuals should be free to make their own choices regarding their identity. No one else has the right to do it for them, and age should not disqualify children and adolescents from setting boundaries regarding who they are. They should be free to learn more about themselves and embody their discoveries as they see fit, with the support and guidance of the adults in their lives.

Transgender people deserve to embody the fullness of who they are and be safe as they do so. And for transgender children and adolescents especially, these model policies will prove damaging and potentially fatal to their holistic health and livelihood.


STRONGLY OPPOSE

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<p>As an educator and mental health professional as well as a parent I strongly oppose this law.  Transgender youth compromise approx 1.8% of school population (politicians spend more time making it a problem than on actual problems in schools) but are at increased risk for violence, suicide, homelessness, depression, anxiety and substance abuse compared to their cisgender peers.  The CDC reports that 35% have been bullied at school and 35% have attempted suicide.  A supportive school is often the only place a child can feel safe (not all kids feel safe at their home for various reasons).  Creating a safe school environment for transgender kids improves both physical and mental health and decreases their risks of victimization to physical and sexual violence, suicide, anxiety, depression and homelessness. If you care about kids physical and mental health you will not allow this to be passed. </p>


I oppose the policies

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Your policies that target a community that is non threatening, real, and just as human and in need of support as is everyone who has a beating heart. These target policies show your true stance on life! You are not pro life, but pro hate. Hate for those who don’t hate! Hypocrisy is your brand!


Strongly oppose the anti trans bill

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<p>I am very against the anti-Trans bill. We need to support our youth and this is absolutely not going to help them in any way. </p>


A teacher who opposes the policy

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As an elementary teacher in VA, I oppose the proposed policies. All students should feel safe and welcome within our schools and communities. My students should feel safe sharing their feelings and asking to go by their preferred pronouns. Our students should not have to handle these big feelings alone and this guidance would isolate them even more.


STRONGLY OPPOSE

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I do not support this bill. Please, think about the children.

Furthermore, LGBT CHILDREN AND ADULTS NEED TO FEEL SAFE IN THIS STATE. VIRGINIA IS FOR LOVERS, NOW ACT LIKE IT!


transgender pronouns

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I ABSOLUTELY support this legislation.  Parents should know exactly what their children are doing when away from them,  and if they are supportive of their child, then they won't mind signing a piece of paper stating as much.  If they don't, then at least the parent can know their child needs counseling!!


I oppose

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Gender affirming policies are important. I OPPOSE the guidance.


oppose, oppose, oppose.

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<p>trans rights are human rights. imagine taking away what little power a student may have to express their true self. this is a terrible, terrible motion and it will cause suicide rates and bullying to only increase. literal children will be disowned and have nowhere to go or may be abused and mistreated even more because of this policy. 10000% oppose. </p>


I oppose this policy.

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As the family member of a wonderful human being who identifies as transgender, I strongly oppose this policy. The intent appears to be to protect transphobic families and teachers from acknowledging and welcoming transgender students. "Protecting" an in group from their discomfort around an out group is commonly known as bigotry. As a mom, this policy does nothing to help my children and their friends be safer. Instead, it has the potential to make them significantly less psychologically and physically safe at school. It is clear that the policy is likely to increase bullying, specifically by treating transgender students as unsafe to be around in locker rooms and bathrooms and as unfair competition on athletic fields and by enabling adults who are supposed to be the role models in schools to publicly disagree with/disapprove of transgender students' identities according to the adult's personal biases. (Note that if you claim you have a right to discriminate against others because of your religion you need not provide documentation or evidence of sincere or persistent religiosity, but if you wish to express your own identity to the detriment of no one you are required to prove yourself again and again and will still face discrimination.) It is difficult to imagine that significant thought was put into the impacts to the transgender student population when the very first item in the list of resources included in the document is consistent with the guidelines this policy seeks to overturn. Please spend time educating yourselves, reading the most current resources, and talking to transgender students and their family, friends, physicians, clergy, teachers, employers, and other allies. These students are not alone, but this policy will isolate them at school and create a hostile learning environment. The proposed policy relies on ignorance and fear around the experience of being transgender to create the illusion of safer schools in order to score political points at the expense of marginalized students. For these reasons, I oppose this policy.


Be kind to all students, treat them equally

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<p>Please do not discriminate against trans students. Be kind and allow all children an opportunity to learn in a safe environment. </p>


Oppose the Policy.

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Strongly support transgender kids.  This policy is harmful.


Trans children must given help, but not through abuse of others

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Trans children need help. Not more abuse. This document protects both the trans children and the none trans children. I am wondering if those who oppose it did take the time to read the proposal, or it was enough that it comes from the governor to oppose it?

Trans children need help. It shouldn't be given through abusing others.

The Guidance protects all as much as possible.

I strongly agree with the document.


Strongly support. It's common sense and science-based. Brains continue to develop until mid-20s.

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It's dangerous to allow kids and teens to make such life altering decisions when we know their brains are still developing. Consider this statement from NIH:

"Though the brain may be done growing in size, it does not finish developing and maturing until the mid- to late 20s. The front part of the brain, called the prefrontal cortex, is one of the last brain regions to mature. This area is responsible for skills like planning, prioritizing, and controlling impulses. Because these skills are still developing, teens are more likely to engage in risky behaviors without considering the potential results of their decisions." (See link below)

Link: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-teen-brain-7-things-to-know

This is not to diminish any sexual orientation at all. All are welcome, as they should be! It's simply to be smart and safe about where we are putting that heavy responsibility of decision-making in these areas. And it most certainly should not be take out of the hands of parents.


I oppose YA’s problematic and transphobic bill

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<p>I oppose the transphobic administration that youngkin is running. Let trans and non-binary kids be kids. </p>


Protect transgender youth

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I have a transgender nephew who has struggled with severe, even suicidal depression.  I fear for him every day - and every day, politicians seek to whip up further fear and hatred of people like him for their own ends in the name of supposedly "protecting" children.  Against what harm? No person on earth is forced to question or change their own gender by the existence of or exposure to transgender people. Whether a child wears pants or a dress, high-heeled shoes or hiking boots, whether they wear a crewcut or a ponytail, what name or pronouns they use, which bathroom they use - none of these pose a threat to anyone.  By contrast, transgender youth are routinely bullied, harassed, and demeaned for nothing more than living as the people they feel themselves to be.

Governor Youngkin's proposed guidelines do not protect children; instead, they single out the most vulnerable of our youth for further abuse and belittling.  Outing a transgender student with transphobic parents exposes that child to potential abuse and rejection.    A student who unknowingly shares a bathroom with a transgender student is at no increased danger; a transgender child forced to use a bathroom based on their birth gender is, by contrast, at enormous risk of bullying.

Even if you believe that a child is somehow less able than you are to understand their own sense of self - surely a very large presumption -a child identified as male at birth but who identifies themselves as female, or vice versa, harms absolutely no one by living according to their own perception of their own gender.  The proposed guidelines will do genuine harm to vulnerable children who cannot choose simply to attend another school or move to another state, who depend on adults to set and live up to standards of tolerance, kindness, courtesy, and respect.  It's little wonder that we are seeing an epidemic of depression and anxiety in our youth when every day, so many adults prove how little they are able or willing to treat anyone they see as unlike themselves with the most basic human decency, and politicians who think they can "whip up the base" decide to use that fear and hatred for their own gain.


A parent who opposes the policy

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Our children are not here for us to approve of them. They come here through us, not for us. It’s our role as parents to support their true nature and well being. We must believe them and trust them to know themselves better than we do. Not every child will have supportive and understanding parents. This law will directly harm those students.


Support Trans Kids

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<p>It's abundantly clear from studies that trans kids whose identities are respected have much lower rates of suicide. </p>


Strongly oppose

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I strongly oppose this legislation for the sake of student success, youth mental health, & youth identity. Trans rights are human rights, and every student should feel comfortable in the classroom.


Strongly oppose this dangerous policy. Trans lives matter

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<p>I strongly oppose any policy that forces a transgender person to use a gender pronoun that they do not feel comfortable with. These youth will be traumatized by this policy. Educators should NOT be in the business of outing their students to parents. I firmly believe this policy would lead to increased risk of suicide in trans youth. The previous policy enacted during the Northam administration should be allowed to stand. As a lesbian I remember the terror of of being outed to my family. This is not the 1950’s. Please stop sacrificing the health and happiness of our students for political gain. </p>


A Worried Ally

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I strongly disagree with this policy


I am completely opposed

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<p>I am completely opposed.  Please take the mental and emotional health of trans kids seriously.  They shouldn't have to fight to have support in their primary community.  I wish every trans kid felt safe being completely honest with their parents, but sadly that just isn't the reality.  They fear real consequences, like being homeless.  Their journey is hard enough without their school environment making it even tougher.  </p>


protect parental rights and our children from warped ideology

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Protect our children in school from warped ideology.

Protect parental rights from warped administrators and woke teacherszo


I support trans & non-binary students.

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I support trans & non-binary students.


Illegal policy

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This policy is clearly politically motivated to enhance Youngkin's appeal outside Virginia, and bears no relationship to protecting children.  It also is illegal in that it is contrary to several court rulings with respect to discrimination against transgender students.  The Department of Education and Superintendent should be protecting children, not harming them like this.  I look forward to supporting any litigation or legislation that challenges this policy.


Support Trans Youth

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It is an absolute disgrace to take such effort to harm children in this Commonwealth for simply being who they are. This unnecessary attack against trans youth shines a bright light on who you and the members of your administration are: BIGOTS.


Support Transgender Youth

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As a Virginia public school educator for more than 30 years I have seen how traumatic it can be for students to feel afraid of their parents finding out about their sexuality.  Allowing students to select their pronouns and names creates a welcoming and inclusive space necessary for them to feel safe and available to learn.


Strongly oppose new policy: We need to protect children, not harass them

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If we ultimately are judged by how we treat the most vulnerable among us, we are miserably failing transgender students with these new "guidelines." Young students need understanding, empathy and protection. These "guidelines", issued under the guise of "parental rights", instead potentially put transgender students in difficult situations physically and untenable circumstances emotionally and mentally.

We talk a great deal about discouraging bullying in our schools and in the lives of young people everywhere. We profess to believe children should not be subjected to humiliation and embarrassment. Yet these new "guidelines" will place children in situations where they face bullying, humiliation and embarrassment on a daily basis.

Adults should be better than this. These are hurtful, harmful "guidelines" based either on political expediency or a lack of understanding of how the world, and the lives of children and others dealing with very real changes in their gender identity, have changed.

I fear these new "guidelines" are based on cruel intentions. I fear they are the result of the idea that everyone must conform to a set of standards that have more to do with the comfort of the enforcers than the rights of individuals who are judged to be "different."


strongly oppose

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i oppose this transphobic bill


Mother and Teacher in support of trans and non-binary students

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Our schools are a safe haven for many students to explore their identities outside of their homes where they often do not have that option or do not feel safe in doing so. I support trans and non-binary students in my classroom, and I lift up their chosen identities to show them that in a world of close-minded humans who express an honest lack of empathy and compassion, I am an ally they can come to and rely on. Gender identity is not singular or simple, and for many it is a journey. I want to be an adult children can trust and feel safe with being themselves fully or as they go on their journey."}'>Our schools are a safe haven for many students to explore their identities outside of their homes where they often do not have that option or do not feel safe in doing so. I support trans and non-binary students in my classroom, and I lift up their chosen identities to show them that in a world of close-minded humans who express an honest lack of empathy and compassion, I am an ally they can come to and rely on. Gender identity is not singular or simple, and for many it is a journey. I want to be an adult children can trust and feel safe with being themselves fully or as they go on their journey.


Strongly Oppose

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As a parent, I am horrified that the State of Virginia would attempt to make schools less safe for any group of children, but especially children who are already at a higher level of risk for being bullied, suffering mental health conditions such as depression and attempting or completing suicide.

LGBTQ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers (Johns et al., 2019; Johns et al., 2020). The Trevor Project’s research consistently finds that LGBTQ young people report lower rates of attempting suicide when they have access to LGBTQ-affirming spaces.

Every student deserves to learn in a safe and supportive setting, free from discrimination. As the US Department of Education has reaffirmed, discrimination based on sex—including sexual orientation and gender identity—isn’t just wrong, it’s prohibited in America’s schools.

Furthermore, the Virginia Values Act bans discrimination against LGBTQ people in places of public accommodation, which includes educational institutions like public schools. This means that schools must offer a safe and equal learning environment to all students, teachers, and staff, including those who are LGBTQ.


Strongly AGREE!

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Thank you, Governor Youngkin! You are a voice of reason.  No girls being subjected to males in their bathrooms, changing areas and overnight sleeping accommodations... who on earth could oppose that?!

All people of good will, wake up and stand up for the children of our Commonwealth.


I oppose

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This law will lead to the death of transgender children.


Support transgender youth

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"I support all children being treated equally. We must strive to encourage diversity, promote inclusion and value acceptance. Children just want to be with their friends. The myths about bathroom use is just that a myth. No child should ever be excluded from sports. I don’t care which team they want to compete on they should be encouraged to do so.? Team work knows no gender. Fairness can not be achieved by alienating those you don’t find acceptable.  Inclusion can not be achieved through alienation. \n\nIn areas where transgender students are not accepted the attempted suicide rate is over 40% and growing. In areas where they are accepted suicide rates are the same as other groups. Stop killing kids! "}'>I support all children being treated equally. We must strive to encourage diversity, promote inclusion and value acceptance. Children just want to be with their friends. The myths about bathroom use is just that a myth. No child should ever be excluded from sports. I don’t care which team they want to compete on they should be encouraged to do so.? Team work knows no gender. Fairness can not be achieved by alienating those you don’t find acceptable. Inclusion can not be achieved through alienation.

In areas where transgender students are not accepted the attempted suicide rate is over 40% and growing. In areas where they are accepted suicide rates are the same as other groups. Stop killing kids!


I Support Trans & Non-Binary Students in VA

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You have no right to decide what's best for others especially when it causes irreparable harm to children at such a young age. It's irresponsible of you to make decisions based on hate and exclusion.


Educator STRONGLY OPPOSE

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I have had many trans students over the course of my teaching career, each who is a unique, important person. The government does not have the right to say a child cannot identify as another gender. That is a deeply person situation.

Most important, trans kids who are not allowed to live as their gender experience, they are at extreme risk for suicide. Trans teens experience suicidality at over 82%, 40% of them have attempted. Suicide is an epidemic, particularly among teens. Is Virginia’s religious right going to consciously risk the lives of trans teens due to their beliefs?

Teachers are supposed to affirm students in their classrooms, otherwise students are not available for learning. When a teacher must out a child to their parents and administration, how will that impact a child? They will feel alone, ostracized, rejected, abandoned. We should be focusing on lifting ALL children up to their greatest potential— despite gender.

Also, as a Queer teacher, am I not allowed to teach? Am I not allowed to be who I am at my core because Youngkin refuses to see someone like me as human? I will never deny my Queerness, but more important, I will never deny my students’ right to their own gender and sexuality. I will never out a child to their administrators or parents. Prepare for an uproar among educators if you pass this hateful, bigoted, ignorant policy.


Opposed


I oppose the 2022 VDOE Model Policy

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"I oppose the 2022 Model Policy as it imposes undue harm on to a certain group of students. As a transgender student who went through the Virginia public school system, I deeply value the respect and decency I was given by my teachers.  This model policy inhibits teachers from giving respect to students. It is despicable that this policy would not allow transgender students to use the restroom that they would like to, prohibits them from playing sports, and prohibits teachers from calling them by their name it is not legally changed, no matter their parent's opinions on the issue. This is not about parents' rights, this is not any mode of respect, this is just harmful. I strongly oppose the 2022 model policy and I ask that it is not put into place."}">I oppose the 2022 Model Policy as it imposes undue harm on to a certain group of students. As a transgender student who went through the Virginia public school system, I deeply value the respect and decency I was given by my teachers. This model policy inhibits teachers from giving respect to students. It is despicable that this policy would not allow transgender students to use the restroom that they would like to, prohibits them from playing sports, and prohibits teachers from calling them by their name it is not legally changed, no matter their parent's opinions on the issue. This is not about parents' rights, this is not any mode of respect, this is just harmful. I strongly oppose the 2022 model policy and I ask that it is not put into place.


Teacher of LGBTQIA students

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I don't know how many times we have to say that by not supporting our trans youth, we increase their risk of suicide exponentially. I oppose this legislation with every fiber of my being. This will cause so much pain and harm to our trans students, families, friends, and teachers. If this leads to more suicides then it is on your head. I will do everything I can to protect my students and keep them supported.


Students are not yet adults, nor are "trans" identities fixed.

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One of the reasons that minors are in the care of their parents until at least 18 years is that they do not always have the experience to know what is good, what is bad, what is long-lasting, and what may only last a short time. While true body-dysmorphic disorder is a serious mental issue (and deserves good treatment, not automatic mutilation) what the vast majority of "trans" children are experiencing is actually a form of crowd-driven hysteria. They find that by claiming to be "trans", they get the attention and approval that they seek from their peers. Unfortunately, a very large majority discover that after they become adults they no-longer want to be the opposite sex, by which time it's too late (https://www.westernjournal.com/doctor-reveals-transgenders-regret/).

For the state government to approve of such things is wrong, and reveals the true goals of the bureaucrats involved: power, not the long-term wellbeing of children. It also reveals that they fail to remember who is supposed to be serving whom here. The state school boards work for the parents, not the other way around.

Parents - who have an intrinsic, and genetic, interest in their children will always do better for them than state bureaucrats, who primarily are driven by budgets and public pressure. The first thing that any totalitarian state seeks to do is to destroy the family and take over the education and control of the nation's children. I sincerely hope that Virginia does not wish to become the next Soviet Union or Maoist China! But that is where the attitude that "parents don't know best" leads us.


Policies to protect children and the sanctity of families

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

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 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.


DONT TAKE AWAY OUR BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS

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<p>We needa feel safe and welcomed just like cis students </p>


100 % support parents

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<p>100% support parents </p>


OPPOSE

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<p>This will harm trans kids. You are doing so much. Harm to fill your political agenda. </p>


Trans rights are human rights.

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This law will kill kids like me.  Trans kids need affirming care.


I oppose

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<p>This law will bring harm to thousands of trans youth in Virginia. We need to protect children and this law is doing the opposite because people in power want to mix religion into the schools and push their bigoted, hateful views onto others. Transgender children are more likely to die by suicide, and this law will only contribute to that growing number. </p>


Oppose

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These policies will only harm trans youths and bring more mental and physical trouble into their lives. The policies proposed only supports discrimination and the spread of hatred inside our public school communities. Forcing trans kids into an environment where they are treated not as their expressed gender identity is harmful to not only them but the whole school environment. There is already toxicity and discrimination of race and gender within our public schools among the youth. These policies have no good outcome and the idea of targeting and regulating the use of pronouns, sports, and bathrooms, for a specific small minority set of students is wrong, harmful, and discriminatory.


STRONGLY OPPOSE

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<p>STRONGLY OPPOSE THIS NEW POLICY </p>


Stop, for a second and think. Please.

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This shouldn't be about left views or right views. Nor should it be about relgious views (The church and state should be seperated anyways, according to our founding fathers). What this issue is, instead, is people deciding based on their biased views (No offence, to anyone, but everyone is biased, even me [Call me based i guess]), instead of thinking. Think, for a second, of the situations this could place people in. A trans child in an abusive family has their saftey, and, quite literally, almost everything, under threat. Horrible people exist, and many have children. Also, this creates unessecary work for people, having to report, determine, and hinder peoples objectives. It makes people unable to feel comfortable in their own life, (Which can also lead to depression and suicide, in case you forgot). Just because you don't support an idea dosen't mean you have the right to enforce your views upon them, especially when your ideas could hurt them. Please, think about the children, they deserve to keep their natural rights, life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. This whole entire thing steamrolls over all of these natural rights. Just because a parent spent money on their child, their child has no obligation to need to be under their control. They have a mind, they have a soul (contrary to some /sarcasm but not really sarcasm), they have a right to live. Please, don't do this. Its scary.

Imagine a world in which you had to be monitored for believing in God, and if you were, your parents would be informed of this right away by your teachers. What if your parents believed that God was a horrible, satanic being? (This is all hypothetical, and I chose this as the example because it will hit a majority of people here). Your parents would probably start doing drastic things, dragging you everywhere, forcing you into uncomfortable situations, and other such things. This is exactly like what it is like for trans students. Another example would be this: Imagine being catholic, and you found yourself living among a devil-worshipping cult, forced to attend daily services, and other crazy things? You would probably be uncomfortable, out of place, and scared, fearing for your life. This too is how trans children must feel here. For the love of whatever you choose, please, dont do this. the world is a scary, dangerous, horrible place. Work to make it better for everyone, no matter their choices.


Student Privacy

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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.

This is wrong because these adverse outcomes will put transgender youth at disproportionate risks for adverse outcomes and risk-factors associated with youth homelessness, such as substance abuse, sexual abuse, and sexually transmitted diseases and other illnesses. Further, it is in our best interest to reduce the mental burden on marginalized youth to decrease the risk of various mental disorders that can cause suicide amongst teens.

This issue is sorely important to me because Black and Brown Youth disproportionately make up the demographic of homeless youth and many of them intersect within the LGBTQ+ community. My previous work as a researcher to prevent youth homelessness necessitates that I speak out against these issues that would harm our transgender youth socioeconomically, mentally, socially, and posteriorly.

For these reasons, I ask you to repeal the 2022 Model Policies and reinstate the 2021 Model Policies.


100% SUPPORT...PARENTS MATTER

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<p>We fully SUPPORT the 2022 VA policies on the rights of students and parents.  As parents of 4th and 8th grade students in Fairfax County Public Schools, we SUPPORT Governor Youngkin's restoration of our rights as parents to make decisions for our family. </p>


Transgender kids are KIDS!  Do Not treat them cruelly

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I am I am absolutely OPPOSED to the model policy.  You should be ashamed....


Protect Trans Rights

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<p>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. </p>


Tran-students have rights like you and I.

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My trans-teenager is lucky to have a parent who supports and allows him to be the person they are.  Many of my trans-son's friends are not as fortunate as mine are.  They are afraid of their parents finding out because they will be ostracized, beaten, and/or kicked out of their own home.

These children don't have an open environment at home.  Their parents haven't realized their values and views might not coincide with their children's way of life.  Their parents intervene when they stray outside of "the way things should be."

By mandating schools to out students to their families, you are putting these children in harms’ way.  Are you willing to put more funding into CPS because a trans-student comes into school black and blue?  Are you willing to put more money into state funded programs that help with homelessness?

The trans community has a higher rate of homelessness and suicided than any other group.  As a parent of two trans-children (and no one didn't influence the other), my oldest had severe depression in high school because they hid themselves from the world.  Their father wouldn't allow them to be who they are at home or out in public.  To this day my oldest deals with depression and suicidal ideation eventhough they are openly trans.

My middle child came out to me during the pandemic, and yes they felt comfortable to do so because their controlling and narrow minded father no longer lived with us.  I have encouraged each step they have taken to be more comfortable with themselves. It is a world of difference on how they view themselves compared to my oldest.

If we, as a society, weren't afraid of something different and spewed hatred toward human beings who are not like cisgender people, we would have a positive world.

I have lived in Virginia my entire life and went through the Fairfax County Public School System. I never thought this state would become so closed minded as it has.  I grew up as a Republican and raised my children conservative.  They still grew up to become trans individuals.  It doesn't matter how you raise your child, they are going to be who they truly are.  We should embrace them instead of causing fear and self-doubt in these individuals.  As for my political affiliation, I have taken off the blind fold and seen the light.  I am not supporting a party that is bigotted.

I plead you repel this mandate that only serves the cowards who are afraid to accept anyone else that doesn't fit their box.


Strongly support

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Let’s support parents in supporting their children


Trans rights are human rights, live and let live.

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Trans rights are human rights. Live and let live!


Transgender people are humans too


STRONGLY OPPOSE

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<p>These proposed model policies are outright hateful and will put trans and non-binary students at risk. Everyone deserves the right to bodily autonomy. That includes young transgender, non-binary, and gender expansive students who require equal protection and equitable access to safe, healthy, and affirming school environments where they can learn, grow, build community, and thrive. </p>


Thank you, Governor! We support you!!

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<p>Governor Youngkin, keep standing strong! I am behind you 100% in your policy changes to allow parents to be involved in and in charge of their children's lives. Thank you for allowing parents the freedom to be parents! Thank you for caring about our children and their mental health. Thank you for working so hard to get rid of the discrimination against the majority of the children in our schools who have been forced to share restrooms and changing rooms with students of the opposite gender. Thank you for acting to get rid of these traumatizing situations for these kids. Thank you for standing up for Truth and order. I am behind you 110% on this. </p>


Teacher - I FULLY SUPPORT THIS POLICY!!!!!

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I fully support this policy. School is NOT THE PLACE to promote misguided, agenda-driven policies about student sexuality. EVER.


Strongly Oppose

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<p>The proposed changes directly conflict with the statement, "All students have the right to attend school in an environment free from discrimination, harassment, or bullying." Children deserve to speak for themselves - this administration wants kids to conform to their personal beliefs which is inhumane. </p>


Strongly Oppose Proposed Model Policy Changes

Chesterfield County Public Schools Parent

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I am the parent of a transgender high school student.  My child attempted suicide recently - not knowing how they will be treated day-to-day in school was a factor in their stress. These proposed policy changes are harmful to students who are already dealing with how they are treated and perceived every day of their lives.

The current policy from 2021 allows students to receive the simple respect of being addressed by names/pronouns that affirm who they are and to use a bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity.   Please leave the 2021 policy in place.

As to the question of parents rights - I agree parents should continue to be informed of mandatory reporting in cases such as abuse, assault, self-harm, suicidal intent etc.  However, if guidance counselors and others are forced to notify parents of students gender identity I am very concerned that may lead to even more children harming / killing themselves, being abused or even kicked out of the house.  Transgender and LGBTQ youth are at a much higher risk for self-harm, suicide, abuse and homelessness already.

Regarding the bathroom/locker room issue - there is no evidence of increased sexual assault when in states where people use the bathrooms that align with their gender identity.  In fact, we have more issues right now with heterosexual students meeting up in the bathrooms to have sex, smoke/vape etc.  The transgender students simply want to go in, change for gym/use the bathroom and get out without notice or harassment from others.  The Loudoun County incident that is so often cited happened BEFORE the 2021 changes were enacted and whether the student was allowed in the bathroom or not, sexual assault is a crime wherever it is committed AND that student sexually assaulted another child in a classroom - clearly the bathroom wasn't the problem the sexual predator (and the school policy of letting him return to school was).

There are also questions on whether the proposed (2022) policies may violate federal law.  If the proposed policies are implemented 'as is' then we will be tying up our schools and school boards in needless litigation while at the same time harming the mental health of students.


STRONGLY IN FAVOR OF CHANGE

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Studies have shown that children with other health disorders such as depression and ADHD (that number is larger than most realize) are at higher risk for suicide and that number increases when they question their gender.  There are MANY children who question their identity because that is how they truly feel.  And then there are the children who do it because they want to fit in, peer contagion, of a maladaptive coping mechanism, or even worse - of virtue signaling.

The current policy states that there are no regulations requiring school staff to notify a parent or guardian when a student requests to affirm their identity.  In this, the schools are expected to use the given name when contacting parents and not the student's requested name.  I COMPLETELY understand that this is to PROTECT children who have not yet shared their decision with their parents.  But guess what??  This is a BROKEN system.  Unfortunately, parents have received calls regarding their children and referred to by their requested name thus unintentionally "outing" them to their families.  Can you imagine that train wreck?  Parents NEED to be informed.  I get that people worry about abuse.  If that is suspected, it should be handled legally.  But this current "protection" is destructive.

Plain and simple, parents need to parent and have EVERY right to know what is going on with their children.


Strongly oppose this policy - I support trans & nonbinary students.

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I strongly oppose this policy - it will harm trans and nonbinary students. I have been in Virginia public schools throughout my entire education and trans-inclusive policies are absolutely critical for the safety and wellbeing of students.

- Charlottesville VA resident


Strongly oppose this foolishness!

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Denying trans kids the right to be themselves, and to feel supported and safe at school, goes against what a public education should look like.  Humans come in all types of shapes, sizes, abilities and orientations.  All are worthy of support, love and a safe space to learn.  It will not harm cis/non trans kids to learn how to respect and get along with everyone.

Learning from an early age that all people matter and have value, even those that are different from you, is one of the best ways to stop the fear and discrimination that we see so often these days.  Get a grip, people, our children are watching.


I BELIEVE TRANS CHILDREN ARE STILL CHILDREN LEAVE THEM ALONE DONT BAN THESE KIDS LEAVE THEM ALONE

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<p>I DON'T BELIEVE ANYONE SHOULD BE BANNED FOR THE WAY THEY FEEL DRESS OR ANYTHING POINTED OUT TO MAKE THEM FEEL DIFFERENT I DONT BELIEVE THE TRANS CHILDREN SHOULD BE MADE A SPECTACLE OF.....LEAVE ALL CHILDREN ALONE LET THEM FEEL THE WAY THEY FEEL DONT TRY TO CHANGE THEM ARE MAKE THEM FEEL THEY'RE DIFFERENT OR NOT GOOD ENOUGH THANK YOU ROBIN WINDSOR </p>


Trans rights are human rights

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<p>Trans kids are just that- kids. Keep your transphobia away from them and away from government policies. I strongly oppose Youngkins policy as a trans ally and Virginia resident. </p>


Strongly oppose

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These new regulations are transphobic and unnecessary.


The 2022 Model Policy Breaks the Law

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"I oppose the 2022 model policy. This model policy goes directly against the Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board decision from right here in Virginia. This model is contradictory as it commands schools to only allow transgender students to use the restroom of their biological sex, while simultaneously asking them to follow the Grimm decision (which allows transgender students to use the restroom they prefer). Thus this model policy breaks the law. For this reason, I strongly oppose the 2022 model policy."}'>I oppose the 2022 model policy. This model policy goes directly against the Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board decision from right here in Virginia. This model is contradictory as it commands schools to only allow transgender students to use the restroom of their biological sex, while simultaneously asking them to follow the Grimm decision (which allows transgender students to use the restroom they prefer). Thus this model policy breaks the law. For this reason, I strongly oppose the 2022 model policy.


This is harmful and backwards

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Human biological diversity of sex is real, it is complicated, and it is not binary. The gender binary is a socially constructed concept that is based on oversimplified archaic understanding of bodies and science. It is not real and by forcing anyone, especially children, to adhere to it is ignoring the years of hard work and research that awarded us this gift of knowledge which has allowed us to see the error of past assumptions. Youngkin's proposal to place harmful social policies within the structure of the space where our youth are supposed to be developing their minds and shaping their future sits in direct opposition to the realities of gender diversity. It is backwards thinking that harms children and slows the progress of humanity by limiting freedom, self determination, and the space to dream by binding these children to antiquated rules guided by limited understanding of the diversity of the human experience. They will not be prepared for a future where this understanding will be a necessary guiding tenet of conceptual frameworks for problem-solving. This will make Virginians less competent and it will impact every aspect of future development including financial markets and employment opportunities. Limited thinking like what is represented here is like teaching these children to pilot a spaceship with a tractor manual.


I oppose the 2022 model policy

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<span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":4,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"I strongly oppose the 2022 model policy. Growing up having friends who struggle with their gender, I have seen firsthand what basic respect can do for the well being an individual. I think that all students, no matter who they are, ought to be treated with respect. This model does not respect many students, nor does it give rights back to the parents (though that is what it claims). I strongly encourage the review board to not allow the 2022 model policy to be put in place. To allow it would be to commend disrepect. Growing up Christian, I have always been taught that everyone should be treated with kindness. The 2022 model policy goes against the Christian faith."}'>I strongly oppose the 2022 model policy. Growing up having friends who struggle with their gender, I have seen firsthand what basic respect can do for the well being an individual. I think that all students, no matter who they are, ought to be treated with respect. This model does not respect many students, nor does it give rights back to the parents (though that is what it claims). I strongly encourage the review board to not allow the 2022 model policy to be put in place. To allow it would be to commend disrepect. Growing up Christian, I have always been taught that everyone should be treated with kindness. The 2022 model policy goes against the Christian faith.


Strongly Oppose

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It is hard enough for trans people to make their way in this world, and is especially hard for teenagers.  Please keep schools a safe place for all children.


Parents' Guidance until Mature

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<p>I come in to indicate that until kids become adults no one should be allowed to mislead them in any way.  So I stand with the governor. </p>


Strongly oppose -- support trans kids

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Children have a right to be safe, including from their parents. If I had come out to my parents while I was still under their control, I would have experienced more emotional and physical abuse than I could have handled. Trans kids, like other queer kids, have existed for as long as there have been humans, and they're not going to go away. If you out children to their parents against their will, you're just going to end up with dead children. I strongly oppose this document.


I oppose Draft student policy for transgender youth

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I strongly oppose Governor Younkin’s draft policy for Transgender youth and would like for the VDOE to reject them.


Strongly Opposed

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Providing a welcoming and safe environment for transgender (and questioning) kids is unquestioningly important when it comes to the wellbeing of our children. State policies of intolerance and exclusion are reprehensible. This policy dismisses the rights of parents of trans children as well as the rights of those children themselves.  It is destructive, hateful, and regressive.


Oppose Policy Change for Trans Youth

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All students deserve to feel safe in school, regardless of their age, religion, gender identity or any other aspect of who they are.  All students should feel comfortable confiding a personal concern – big or small – to a staff member without fear of that information being shared with their parent or guardian. All students deserve to attend school without fear of bullying. All students deserve to be called by the name and pronouns that feels right to them.

As a result, I strongly oppose the Virginia Department of Education 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 fear for the future of students if this policy is implemented. I do not wish there to be an increase of depression, suicide, or other struggles for trans and non-binary youth.

Please do not implement this new model policy.


Strongly oppose this model policy guidance

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As a parent of children enrolled in Virginia public schools, I strenuously oppose the VDOE model policy guidance.

Gov. Youngkin's draft model policy purports to protect the "privacy, dignity, and respect for all students and parents in Virginia public schools." Unfortunately, this transphobic proposal will create the opposite, leading to erosions of privacy, dignity, and respect for students and their families and creating a very high, very real risk of harm to students.

Developing a sense of self requires a young person to engage with all aspects of their physical and mental being as they grow up. Some students may discover along the way, as they come to understand themselves and their positions in the world, that they are transgender, non-binary, or otherwise gender-nonconforming.

Virginia state law requires the DOE's model policies to rely on "evidence-based best practices." Well, here's the evidence: LGBT+ teenagers are at extreme risk for self-harm, suicidal ideation, and attempted suicide attempts. A November, 2021 article in the Journal of Public Health, for example, found suicidal ideation rates among LGBT teens to be higher than 73%. But the same study, corroborated by other work on the topic, found that "positive school experience" and social support reduced the risks to LGBT teens. Other research has also found that providing gender-affirming care drastically decreases the incidence of depression and self-harm among transgender youth. Gov. Youngkin instead proposes to trash the evidence and create hostile school environments. This guidance -- requiring teachers and staff to become unsafe adults for students to speak with; prohibiting teachers and staff from using a child's correct name and pronounce; and in fact trying to erase transgender, non-binary, and GNC kids entirely -- would increase, rather than decrease, the harm to both kids and the families who love them.

Grimm v Gloucester County School Board was very literally a Virginia case; has the state learned nothing about both basic decency and a legal obligation toward students in its wake? Violating trans' kids rights doesn't create "privacy" or "dignity," it creates self-loathing and expensive lawsuits.


Opposed to this Proposal

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I strongly oppose the Youngkin Administration’s anti-transgender and anti-gender nonconforming stance on the 2022 Model Policies through VDOE. Through this proposal, the Youngkin Administration seeks to subvert years of evidenced based research regarding harm reduction, suicidality rates and the importance of familial/social support in the LGBTQ+ community; specifically, the gender diverse individuals. As a healthcare provider in the state of Virginia, I have professional experience working with this community and supporting their needs and goals therapeutically. Providing a culturally competent space for children, teens and young adults is harm reduction. Providing access to gender affirming care is harm reduction. Providing spaces for k-12 youth to explore, define and acknowledge their gender identity/expression is harm reduction. Parents have a role to play in this as well, however, when youth are met with microaggressions, violence and ill-informed perspectives at home that echo this proposed 2022 Model, psychological and physical wellbeing are at stake.

The Trevor Project, a national crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ youth has reported on this phenomenon for years. “LGBTQ young adults who report high levels of family acceptance of their LGBTQ identity report higher levels of self-esteem, social support, and general health compared to their LGBTQ peers who report low levels of family acceptance (Ryan et al., 2010).” This administration’s proposal disregards the role of minority stress on health and in healthcare. “Minority stress, in turn, can manifest in the form of poor mental health as LGBTQ youth attempt to navigate anti-LGBTQ environments, such as their home, schools, or communities (Meyer, 2003). LGBTQ young adults who report low levels of family acceptance of their LGBTQ identity report higher levels of depression, substance use, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts (Ryan et al., 2010).”

According to the 2022 proposal, “The Virginia Department of Education (the “Department”) recognizes that each child is a unique individual with distinctive abilities and characteristics that should be valued and respected. All students have the right to attend school in an environment free from discrimination, harassment, or bullying”. Should you truly seek to uphold this mission statement, your administration must withdraw this proposal. This assault on transgender and gender non-conforming youth contradicts years of evidence, clinical knowledge, and research on lifespan development. As it currently stands, Virginia residents are already having difficulty accessing mental health services. Therapists are burning out and leaving the field. This policy will lead to a spike in crises, housing instability for youth that are forcibly told to leave by unsupportive parents s and mental health concerns. The rhetoric in this policy centers on family, yet, is nothing more that thinly veiled transphobia. Governor Youngkin’s proposed policy does not speak for me, my professional ethics or the state of Virginia.


This bill is stupid.

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I strongly oppose Youngkin and his idiotic views on trans rights. This bill would endanger children who are already at a higher risk of suicide. This bill goes against researched medical advice. Let kids be kids, including the transgender ones.


Support Transgender Students

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I call on Glenn Youngkin at the Virginia Assembly to support the adoption of the VDOE's Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools.  Trans and nonbinary youth are some of the most vulnerable citizens within our Commonwealth, and it is our duty to insure these students are protected and affirmed so that they may freely and fully pursue their right to an education.

Current research in child development and education policy supports protecting basic rights and dignity of students, such as the ability to be called by their preferred name and pronouns and to use the restroom aligning with their gender identity.  These steps towards basic dignity cost our government nothing but have a momentous impact in the long-term safety and productivity of trans and non-binary students; changing these small behaviors has no adverse impact on the rest of K-12 populations and the solution is literally free.  Advocating for students not to have these basic rights and full access to their education is vindictive and morally corrupt.

Our politicians now have a chance to show their true colors and whether they support vulnerable children in our state, or if support hate and fear mongering with no proven basis.  I call on our elected officials to ensure all transgender and binary students in Virginia are protected by pushing for the full adoption of adoption of the VDOE's Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools in all districts.