REJECT THE 2022 MODEL POLICIES

A concerned nonbinary college student from Virginia

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I was born and raised in Virginia. I attended all 13 years of public school in Virginia, I am currently attending college in Virginia, and I am nonbinary. I oppose the 2022 Model Policies because they will negatively affect trans and gender non-conforming students who are still in high school.

Under the “Purpose” section of the 2022 Model Policies, the Virginia Department of Education claims to “value and respect” each student’s individualism and aim to improve “outcomes for all children in Virginia”. However, nothing about the 2022 policies respect trans and gender-diverse students’ individualism, nor will it improve outcomes from Virginia students.

I despise that in the 2022 Model Policies the phrase “transgender student” is defined as “a public school student whose parent has requested in writing, due to their child’s persistent and sincere belief that his or her gender differs from his or her sex, that their child be identified while at school.” It completely removes the autonomy and individuality of Virginia’s students by declaring that a student is only trans if their parent says they are trans. Being trans is not a condition that is able to be verified by an outside source. Only an individual can look within themselves and understand their own identity. If a student has looked within themselves and found themselves to be trans then they are trans. Furthermore, because this definition uses the word “belief,” it depicts being trans as a phase or as something that is changeable. This is false. Being trans is not a “belief” or “ideology,” it is a core aspect of one’s identity. Just as cisgender students know in their core that they are cis, trans students know in their core that they are trans. Outside influence will not change this. One’s identity is not a “belief” that can be changed. The 2022 Model Policies should have acknowledged student's autonomy and individualism, by validating that if a student identifies as trans, then they are trans.

Appendix 1, Section III. Model Policies, D-2 declares that “[School Division] personnel shall refer to each student using only (i) the name that appears in the student’s official record, or (ii) if the student prefers, using any nickname commonly associated with the name that appears in the student’s official record.” This is extraordinarily harmful and does not treat students with “respect, compassion, and dignity in the classroom and school environment.” Refusing to call a student by their requested name and pronouns is very damaging to mental health, and can increase rate of depression and suicidal ideation. To ensure “improved outcomes for all children in Virginia,” we must have Model Policies that require school staff to use student’s requested names and pronouns. We need to respect the autonomous choice of students, to choose how they will be referred to by their teacher and peers.

Appendix 1, Section III. Model Policies, D-4 states that the only way for a student to be referred to by their desired name and pronouns is if “a student’s parent has instructed [School Division] in writing that such other name or other pronouns be used.” This requires students to be outed to their parents, which could have disastrous consequences for students who live in homes that are not welcoming to trans people. For a student to be outed to transphobic parents could result in these students being kicked out of their households or completely invalidated by their parents (which could make their mental health worse).  I would like to take a moment to discuss my personal emotions surrounding the possibility of being outed to transphobic parents. In high school, I was coming to terms with my sexuality and gender identity, and I confided in teachers who were wonderfully supportive and always available to simply listen. I was terrified of being outed to my family because my parents are homophobic and transphobic, and very set in their beliefs. I was worried if I was outed that they wouldn’t believe me, that they would lose all respect for me, that they wouldn’t pay for college, or even more extremely, that they would send me to some form of conversion therapy or even kick me out. I determined for my safety and my family’s harmony I would wait to come out as a nonbinary queer person until after I graduated college.

Back to the 2022 Model Policies, for future grade school students to be forced out of the closet to their family, simply because they desired to be addressed by their requested name and pronouns in school, will increase mental health problems such as depression and suicide and result in more children being kicked out of their homes or abused by transphobic family members. For some students, it is optimal to stay in the closet from their families for their safety. However, students may desire to come out to their peers at school, and thus may request to be addressed by their desired name and pronouns. This autonomous decision must be respected. Students know themselves better than their parents. If they feel it is their best interest to be referred to by a certain name and pronouns in school, then that request must be accommodated without outing them to their parents.

FOR THE REASONS OUTLINED ABOVE, I ASK VIRGINIA’S STATE GOVERNMENT TO REJECT THE 2022 MODEL POLICIES AND TO REINSTATE THE 2021 MODEL POLICIES.


I strongly oppose this legislation

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<p>I am a former teacher who loved and supported all of my former students and the state should also be in the business of supporting our students, not further alienating them. </p>


Strongly Oppose 2022 Model Policies

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These model polices presume that transgender students have healthy parents and are parented in a manner where their parents recognize and support their wish to identify their gender differently from the sex they were assigned at birth.  However, many transgender students exist in emotionally abusive or psychologically stunting home environments which harm their mental health, developmental progress, and relatedly educational achievement and these model policies empower these neglectful parents to continue harming their children.  These 2022 model policies attempt to address potentially confusing areas such as manner of dress, sports involvement, activities involvement, but do so in a way which exclude rather than include.  I strongly oppose the adoption of the 2022 model policies.


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

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Let the conselors handle children’s sexuality???


Governor please investigate ALL school counselors opposing parental involvement!

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<p>A school counselor on here posted that she is against parental involvement? She thinks the school counselors should be in charge of our childrens sexuality? That is a child predator! Please investigate any school counselors that reject parental involvement </p>


Strongly Oppose -- Support Transgender Children to Reduce Depression and Suicide

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As a mental health therapist in Virginia, I strongly oppose the 2022 model policy regarding the treatment of transgender students. Please support transgender children and teenagers; research shows they have extremely high rates of depression and suicide and benefit from school belonging and support.


Adamantly opposed to new transgender student model policy

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I am a VA parent of school children. The Supreme Court of the United States long ago declared my rights regarding my children's education. Thus, every policy cloaked in the garb of parents' rights is a dog whistle. This model policy harms children. Especially children whose parents already harm them by refusing to acknowledge who they are. Why take away their safe space at school just for political gain? Children deserve to have their rights valued and respected. Using them as political pawns is utterly appalling. This policy has no place in Virginia or anywhere.


PRO Life! PRO Children! PRO Parents! Support proposed Policies

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Governor Youngkin, please turn VA around!


Protect Trans Kids

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This new guidance isn't about protecting students or even about parent choice.  This guidance was designed to create a wedge issue in the upcoming elections and to demonize public schools.  Schools want to partner with parents.  We want to work with you to educate your children.  There is no teacher or school who is looking to hide information or deceive parents.  We do however want to create a safe place for students and to build trust.  Trust is students knowing they can come talk to a safe adult at school without worrying about being judged or tattled on.  Trust is asking the student permission before sharing any information given in confidence.  Trust  is knowing students can be themselves without fear.  This new guidance forces schools to break that trust and inform parents of information given in confidence that is not a threat to student safety.

This new guidance demonizes transgender students a labels them as inherently dangerous to other students.  By specifying that students can only use gender specific facilities based on their assigned gender at birth they are sending a message that transgender individuals need to be separate from others of the gender with which they identify (i.e. transgender girls cannot use the girls bathroom or cannot participate in girls sports).  Why do they need to be separate?  What does they Governor think is happening in these bathrooms?  By requiring them to be separate you are saying you think they are up to something.  They are just people.  Like all of us they want to be treated with dignity and respect.  They want to go to school, make friends, play sports, and be themselves.

To sum it all up.  The Governor's guidance singles out transgender students to be ostracized and treated as second class citizens.  It denies students their autonomy and strips them of their individual rights.


Gov Youngkin VA school policy

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<p>I fully support our elected Governor’s policies,  in that all issues involving all students and concerns, education, safety, lesson plans, textbooks, nutrition, sports, mental health, counseling, restrooms, academics, courses, teachers lessons/visions, teachers backgrounds,  testing, discussions accompanied by parents a must, communications and any other aspects that may not have been mentioned that specifically involves a child’s education and well being be supported in schools that our taxes are paying for be considered valuable. Parents are the child’s advocate and governments/schools should not be making decisions in young minds that May indoctrinate or manipulate a child that has very young and immature reasoning skills capability. Children need to be taught reading, writing, history and mathematics and important life skills age appropriate. </p>


I support new pro-parent policies proposed.

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


I support parental rights and Gov. Youngkin!

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Children are given to parents to raise, not governments to indoctrinate. Thank you, Governor Youngkin for protecting children and parents.


Strongly Oppose

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<p>I strongly oppose the new policy on the treatment of Transgender and Non-binary students. School is the last place to accept any form of hatred and mistreatment of any students. This policy is outdated, even though it is being brought forward in 2022. It comes down to this: parents don’t go to school and children do. Schools should be a safe place for anyone. Children spend their entire day in school, so why not make them feel comfortable about who they are? Parents have absolutely no say over what their children decides to identify as because parents do not go to school and they are not their children. Hate isn’t welcome here. </p>


I oppose the 2022 model policies

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<p>Under the guise of "parental rights," these policies discriminate against transgender/non-binary youth and will cause children harm. I strongly oppose.  </p>


Agree 100% to the 2022 Model Policies

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Thanks for implement the newly proposed Model Policies.


Virginia Dept of Education model policy

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I oppose the Virginia Dept of Ed model policy that will have negative impacts on children who are struggling to understand themselves and need to be accepted a full human beings. Prejudice and intolerance are never appropriate methods to support children. The state has a responsibility to do no harm and to protect the innocent. These policies may be intended to generate political support, but I argue it will backfire and more importantly it will cause harm directed by the state. Shame on Virginia if this is the path we choose.


Strongly Opposed to the new model guidance

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I am strongly opposed to the new model guidance. The previous (2021) version was the stronger document, and presented the kindest and most modern path forward.

The revised document reads like nothing so much as a legal defense mounted with the expectation of being sued. Educational guidance should aspire to be better.

The revised guidance does not do enough to recognize students as people with their own (reasonable) expectations of self determination, privacy, and safety. It also does  not sufficiently recognize teachers as educated professionals with the training and skills to manage the competing obligations of parents and students.


Standing w/ GOV Youngkin

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I stand with Governor Youngkin in keeping our girls safe. We must stop destroying our public schools by continuing to push these dangerous policies. Students and their education should be the #1 priority.


Protect our kids and parents. support the bill

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Support the bill. Thank you Youngkin. We voted you in for a reason!


Strongly in favor of new pro-parent policies in public schools

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I agreed 100% with the new proposed policies.


strongly oppose the proposed policy changes for transgender students

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<p>These proposed policies will harm transgender youth. </p>


OPPOSE the 2022 model policies

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Rescind the 2022 Model Policies which threaten the safety and well-being of transgender and gender diverse students. Implementing policies contrary to scientific data have no place in our public schools. Public schools should provide a welcoming & inclusive environment for all students to thrive.


Support the bill, stop pushing ideologies!

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Leave our children alone!! They can make their own decisions when they are actually mature enough to make their beds and do get a job. No middle schooler has enough sense to realize what life changing and unalterable decisions these are. Parents have the right to guide their children, that's why they even exist! Get out of their way and stop bullying parents. Support the bill!


I oppose this regressive anti-trans guidance

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This guidance could not more clearly target trans and non-binary students for bullying, harassment, and other-ing if it were designed with that sole purpose in mind. Please make schools a welcoming and safe place for ALL students, not just those who conform to some expected gender presentation.


Thank you!

Thank you so much for this proposal! I support your efforts.No matter what my children are going through, it is my responsibility as a parent to tend to them. As a mother who loves her children, I will do everything I can to help and guide my children. Parents kept in the dark are unable to participate in the care of their children.As a traditional Catholic wife and mother, my purpose is to get my family to Heaven. Regardless of where my children are on the journey, I will always want to be near them and available to hear them.The 2021 Model Policies undercut my responsibilities and rights as a parent, and put my children in a situation where groupthink, peer-pressure, and the influence of some school officials are the focal points instead of the tender care a mother and father will provide for their beloved children.Once again, I thank you and support you immensely. May God bless you, now and always!

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Thank you so much for this proposal! I support your efforts.

No matter what my children are going through, it is my responsibility as a parent to tend to them. As a mother who loves her children, I will do everything I can to help and guide my children. Parents kept in the dark are unable to participate in the care of their children.

As a traditional Catholic wife and mother, my purpose is to get my family to Heaven. Regardless of where my children are on the journey, I will always want to be near them and available to hear them.

The 2021 Model Policies undercut my responsibilities and rights as a parent, and put my children in a situation where groupthink, peer-pressure, and the influence of some school officials are the focal points instead of the tender care a mother and father will provide for their beloved children.

Once again, I thank you and support you immensely. May God bless you, now and always!


Reject The 2022 Guidance

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The 2022 model guidance is unjust, immoral, and illegal. It is unjust because it accuses the innocent. While sexual assault in our schools is a problem, trans children are not a significant contributor to the problem. Moreover, the solution proposed here flies in the face of the very values and dogma that Gov Youngkin’s administration purported supports: namely that criminals don’t follow laws so laws seeking the bind criminals only deprive the innocent of their liberties. Sexual assailents are criminals and it is not as if our school bathrooms are warded by anything more menacing than a sign.  These policies only deprive innocent, law abiding kids of their dignity and liberty.

The policy is also immoral. Under Governor Northam, our schools became a place that trans kids could be themselves, even if they did not have a safe home environment in which to do so. The commonwealth made a promise to these children and the 2022 policy would break that promise. When teachers are forced to out trans kids to their parents, yes, we will likely see some parents who are grateful for the information. We will also almost certainly see some parents use violence against their own children. Our schools have a moral obligation to protect students from abuse, not enable child abusers. In enacted, this policy will injure or -- worse -- kill some of our commonwealth’s children.

Finally, this policy is illegal. The bathroom policy in particular asserts that children will use the bathroom associated with their biological sex but then goes on to note that schools must comply with federal law. Federal precedent here in the 4th Circuit is the Grimm decision, which explicitly states that students have the right to use the bathroom associated with their gender identity -- not just their sex assigned at birth.

The policy as written is a disaster: neither conforming to the enabling legislation, nor consistent with the governor’s political ideas, nor actually protective of our children. It is a witch hunt and a moral panic wrought in policy and there will be blood on the hands of those who push it through.


Let Trans Kids Live

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I oppose these transphobic, bigoted, and dangerous policies proposed by the Youngkin Administration. Trans and gender-nonconforming kids have the right to live their lives free of government meddling. Let's call what Youngkin and the GOP are doing for what it is — bullying LGBTQ+ kids. It's as simple as that. It absolutely sickens me that these children are being shamelessly used as political props. At the end of the day, this is about fairness and respect. To those who think this won't affect you, I ask you this: if Youngkin and the GOP can trample over the rights of trans children, what makes you think they won't do the same for you?


100% Support!!

Support this revised policyI fully support the proposed 2022 Guidelines. The 2021 Guidance put schools in the position of severing the parent-child relationship, of deciding what is best for a child and of unduly influencing a minor child. While supportive schools are essential, and the rights of every student are equally important, parents know, love and care for their children far more than schools, which are transient in a child's life. The previous 2021 guidance went far beyond State and Federal Law in wresting decision-making and authority away from parents and handing it over to schools and non-guardians.
This new guidance appropriately revokes the deceit authorized by the 2021 guidance, which in practice directed schools to conceal its interactions with a minor child, whether over counseling or use of pronouns, facilities etc. This deceitful aspect of the 2021 guidance was one of its most problematic and dangerous features.
The previous guidance put girls and women in harm's way by allowing males into all their safe spaces. While the intent of the 2021 guidance is to allow transgender students to chose facilities, the practice in the way it is worded disallows questioning of any male entering a female space. Further, the population of girls and women who have been victims of sexual assault is far greater than the population of transgender students, and it is wrong and dangerous for these women to have to fear males entering private spaces with them. There are reasonable and fair ways to protect transgender students without taking away the right to privacy and safety of every female in the system.
Further, the former guidance unlawfully compelled speech as to pronoun usage, again going far beyond both State and federal law. Every child deserves equal respect, but the law does not grant them the right to compel the speech of others.
Every school will have to work out ways to respect and support transgender children, including for children who may face danger at home. It goes without question that support, compassion and respect are essential to caring for transgender children in schools. The answer, however, is not a blanket order affecting all families by unlawfully removing parental authority and involvement from a child's life, as was the effect of the previous guidance. Schools and counselors should be partners with children and parents, not usurpers of parental roles.
This policy is a great step forward in removing the excesses of the 2021 guidance.

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Support this revised policy

I fully support the proposed 2022 Guidelines. The 2021 Guidance put schools in the position of severing the parent-child relationship, of deciding what is best for a child and of unduly influencing a minor child. While supportive schools are essential, and the rights of every student are equally important, parents know, love and care for their children far more than schools, which are transient in a child's life. The previous 2021 guidance went far beyond State and Federal Law in wresting decision-making and authority away from parents and handing it over to schools and non-guardians.

This new guidance appropriately revokes the deceit authorized by the 2021 guidance, which in practice directed schools to conceal its interactions with a minor child, whether over counseling or use of pronouns, facilities etc. This deceitful aspect of the 2021 guidance was one of its most problematic and dangerous features.

The previous guidance put girls and women in harm's way by allowing males into all their safe spaces. While the intent of the 2021 guidance is to allow transgender students to chose facilities, the practice in the way it is worded disallows questioning of any male entering a female space. Further, the population of girls and women who have been victims of sexual assault is far greater than the population of transgender students, and it is wrong and dangerous for these women to have to fear males entering private spaces with them. There are reasonable and fair ways to protect transgender students without taking away the right to privacy and safety of every female in the system.

Further, the former guidance unlawfully compelled speech as to pronoun usage, again going far beyond both State and federal law. Every child deserves equal respect, but the law does not grant them the right to compel the speech of others.

Every school will have to work out ways to respect and support transgender children, including for children who may face danger at home. It goes without question that support, compassion and respect are essential to caring for transgender children in schools. The answer, however, is not a blanket order affecting all families by unlawfully removing parental authority and involvement from a child's life, as was the effect of the previous guidance. Schools and counselors should be partners with children and parents, not usurpers of parental roles.

This policy is a great step forward in removing the excesses of the 2021 guidance.


Common Sense Returns to the Commonwealth

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Thank you for updating these policies to restore protections for basic parental rights and ensuring that parents are no longer cut out of the process—especially when it concerns how gender and sexuality issues are handled with our kids at school.

• I support the new policies’ removal of language that encouraged school officials to follow procedures to essentially deceive parents when their children are making potentially life-altering decisions regarding their gender identity in a school setting.

• The original policy had language that created a wedge between parents and their child, at a time when they need to have more communication—and I support the new update that removes this barrier.

• I support the updated language that acknowledges students and teachers can’t be forced into compelled speech that violates their constitutional rights, including First Amendment and religious freedom protections.

• I support the updated language that empowers schools to make their own decisions on how to best protect kids—especially when it comes to protecting vulnerable students in a state of undress in locker rooms or overnight sleeping quarters for school field trips.

• Middle and High School years can be very challenging, so I’m glad we already have comprehensive bullying policies to ensure a safe environment, while still respecting the rights of all students. That’s why it’s important schools have the freedom—as this updated policy allows— to address bathroom/privacy issues on a case by case basis with parents—and not through a one-size-fits-all pressure tool that treats all districts/communities the same.

• Please finalize these updated 2022 model policies as written without removing any of the key protections to restore parental involvement in the process and protect children’s privacy and safety rights.


Strongly Oppose the 2022 Model Policies

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I am writing to express my strong opposition to the 2022 Model Policies as an educator in a Central Virginia public high school. Providing school environments that are inclusive and supportive to LGBTQ students is crucial for student safety. Research from the Trevor Project found that LGBTQ students who attend schools that are affirming to LGBTQ identities are less likely to attempt suicide. (https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2022/#support-youth)

Additionally, a 2022 study notes that “upward of 40% of all trans individuals consider or attempt suicide during adolescence or young adulthood,” but trans students who feel belonging at school are half as likely to have attempted suicide, compared to trans students who don’t feel like they belong at school. (Citation: Austin, A., Craig, S. L., D’Souza, S., & McInroy, L. B. (2022). Suicidality among transgender youth: elucidating the role of interpersonal risk factors. Journal of interpersonal violence, 37(5-6), NP2696-NP2718. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520915554) Clearly, helping trans students feel accepted at school is associated with a positive impact on their personal safety.

As an educator, I fear that the proposed policies will make my school feel unsafe and unwelcoming to trans students who are already vulnerable. Research suggests that creating environments that are hostile to trans students will increase their risk of death by suicide. I urge you to oppose the proposed policies in order to protect students’ lives.


Thank you Gov Youngkin for protect our children and parental rights!

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Thank you Gov Youngkin for protecting our children and parental rights.


School Counselor Strongly Opposes

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Specifically for high schools, accreditation is based on several categories including graduation and completion index, dropout rate, and chronic absenteeism. Policies like the newly introduced model policies will directly and negatively impact LGBTQ students' ability to meet these criteria and therefore impact their schools’ accreditation. Transgender youth in particular are six times more likely to miss school, while a third of surveyed LGBTQ students missed at least one entire day of school in the past month, all because they felt unsafe. If you want to address chronic absenteeism, addressing the reasons LGBTQ students feel unsafe in school is imperative. Creating more reasons for them to feel unsafe at school, for example by allowing teachers to misgender and misname them, will only exacerbate school avoidance and increase absenteeism.

Even when they are present, LGBTQ+ students are not effectively supported. 40% of LGBTQ students avoid HPE because they feel unsafe or uncomfortable, despite 2 credits of HPE being required for graduation. LGBTQ students who reported that they were considering dropping out of school cite two large issues as their reasoning: academic issues (68.4%) and hostile school climate (60.8%), including issues with harassment, unsupportive peers or educators, and gendered school policies/practices.

These policies harm students. They do not set them up to be successful. Virginia schools made significant progress last year with the 2021 Model Policies. They were evidence-based, unlike the new policies. Parents already have a choice - to accept and love their children for who they are, or not to do so. If they choose not to do so, school may be the only place they find people who do. Policies like these are discriminatory and harmful. They are not based on any evidence or research, except that which proves that LGBTQ students will suffer.


Enable Abusive Parents

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Many parents are mentally, emotionally and physically abusive towards their children. Many parents are alcoholics or drug addicts. Children are not property, they are human beings. Our ninth grade, Virginia public school daughter, had a friend (who has now moved) who was born a female, but wished to identify as a male. No, they were not looking to chop off their breasts or take hormones, but they wanted to be known as he or they and be called a different name than their birth name. He lived with his alcoholic mother, who refused to accept their male identity. The mother had been mentally, physically and emotionally abusive towards her child. The student said they found school a safe place to be the identity their human rights allow. Their teachers identified him by the name he wanted to be called. He should not have had to ask his mother permission to be called he/they or by a different name at school by his teachers.

A Reuters article, filed October 6, 2022 states that in 2021, 1,390 patients ages 6 to 17 initiated puberty blockers and 4,231 patients ages 6 to 17 initiated hormone therapy. Also in 2021, Reuters states that 282 patients ages 13 to 17, underwent a mastectomy with a prior gender dysphoria diagnosis. This data, as stated in the article, is drawn from the actual full or partial insurance claims. In addition, there may be patients who have paid out of pocket for these medical services, but these numbers do not show actual gender reassignment surgery or a gender dysphoria diagnosis for those under 18 years of age, to be an epidemic in the United States.

Perhaps, Virginia public schools, should be more focused on improving our students reading and math scores. Covid allowed not only a lack of education, but created a prison for many students in their own home with their abusive parents as the warden. Allowing students to go back to in person instruction, helped numerous children to escape their houses and find a safe haven in school. This proposed guidance change will only allow abusive parents to have more reign over their already cloistered manner of parenting in the year 2022. This proposed guidance change will create more abuse behind closed doors.


Thank you for taking a step back from unreality

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To love another is to will the good for them, and thus one cannot love by affirming disordered desires; yet this is exactly what is happening when people affirm others in trying to change their biological sex. Tragically, this only ends in the mutilation of a healthy body while the sick mind goes untreated.

Though these model policies do not fully step away from such harm to children, they are a firm step away from further sliding into unreality, and I applaud Governor Youngkin for having the fortitude to take such an important step! Parents are the essential educators and protectors of their children. Therefore, any policy that completely takes them out of the decision-making process, especially for something as enormous as a decision to accept or deny the reality of how one has been created, is supremely unjust. Thank you, and may God bless you, Governor Youngkin, for re-establishing proper order in a parent’s right to protect their children’s’ well-being.


Support Youngkin's bill and Parent's Rights! Protect our children!

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Support the bill!

Youngkin understands that parents are the educators of their children, who are still maturing and not capable of making life-changing decisions that they almost unanimously regret. Let the parents decide how they want to raise their own family. If you strip parents of the right to their own children there's no sense in a family at all. Save Our Children!


The 2022 Model Policies Endanger Children

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My name is Samuel Falls, and I oppose the new Model Policies proposed by Governor Youngkin’s administration. I attended public schools in Virginia for several years, and am currently an undergraduate at the University of Virginia. I am not sure yet where I will live and work post-graduation, but the new Model Policies are pushing me to leave the state. The new policies scare me because they would have hurt my friends, were we still in school. They scare me because I would like to have a family some day, and these policies would hurt kids that I might have. They scare me because they will definitely hurt kids that I do not know across the state of Virginia.

The 2022 policy removed protections for transgender or other genderqueer students who may not want their parents to know their gender identity. This is extraordinarily dangerous. For many children, it “can pose imminent safety risks, such as losing family support or housing,” (according to the Trevor Project). The existence of government agencies such as Child Protective Services demonstrates that we know that, while all parents should love and support their children, not all do. We take it as a given that sometimes intervention is necessary to protect children from their parents. This case is no different. The 2022 Model Policies enable abusive parents to harm their children more effectively. Let me be clear: this policy will kill kids if enacted.

From a legal perspective, 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). There are clear legal grounds to challenge these policies. It is my desperate hope that if they are enacted, they will be challenged in court, and struck down.

But that isn’t good enough. If the policies are enacted, they will do substantial harm even if they are only in place for a brief time. You cannot undo trauma by repealing a bad law. Once you have outed a transgender child to their parents, they can’t go back in the closet. You can’t bring a dead child back to life. I ask you to please think of the children when it comes time to make a decision. Do not enact these policies.


I fully support these reforms as a Virginian & voter

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I support the reforms put forth by the governor. While I certainly sympathize with someone who is experiencing gender dysphoria I think it is also important to preserve parental rights and religious freedom in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Furthermore, I think these reforms are vital to guard against some of the trends we are seeing elsewhere in the United States where students in some cases can receive treatments without parental knowledge or consent. This is why I think these reforms are so important for the Commonwealth of Virginia. We need to make sure that the rights of parents and guardians are respected in the Commonwealth of Virginia.


Parental rights

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Parents have the right to know what is going on in schools.


Oppose all proposed policies

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I oppose all proposed policies. Do not make life harder for transgender students and their parents.


Support the new policies

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I support parental rights, treating the youth fairly, but not teaching them to lie and subvert their parents. I think much of this is social experimentation, and I don't believe that indoctrination belongs in our schools. As an employee, I do not want to be forced to use the pronoun of the day. And also, do not present girls with erased womanhood--let's protect them and encourage their womanhood.


Strongly Oppose- Please respect these children as you'd like them to respect you

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The rates of suicidality among teenagers has skyrocketed in recent years, and among transgender teens it is heartbreakingly astronomical. Please please let them feel safe and wanted and respected in school. No one wants to take parenting away from parents. Please do the right thing.


Students should use the bathrooms/facilities that correspond to their biological sex.

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Thank you Governor Youngkin for the new proposed Model Policies.


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Loudoun county school board is a disgrace!


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!!!!!!!!!!!


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!!!!!!!!!!


Oppose these cruel guidelines

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Statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

“Our organizations strongly oppose any legislation or regulation that would discriminate against gender-diverse individuals, including children and adolescents, or limit access to comprehensive evidence-based care which includes the provision of gender-affirming care. Any discrimination based on gender identity or expression is damaging to the socioemotional health of children and families as evidenced by increased risk of suicide in this population.”


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!!!!!!!!!


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!!!!!!!!


Thank you, Governor Youngkin! I 100% support for your 2022 Model Policy

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Thank you for your courage to uphold the constitutional right of parents to make decision for the children with which God entrusted them! Thank you for the compassion you express toward all children and your concern for the protection of all! Thank you for standing firm for Life in every possible way. Know that we are upholding you and those standing with you continually in prayer!


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!!!!!!!


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!!!!!!


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!!!!!


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!!!!


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!!!


I support empowering parents to parent their children.

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I support empowering parents, to parent their children. Let teachers teach skills needed in our country, math, languages, computer, science, music, arts to grow and be successful with confidence. Teach children to think, not speculate and second guess.


Pro parent policy proposed by the Virginia Department of Education

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I support Governor Youngkin’s proposed regulations to restore parental rights.  These new policies honor & protect the sacred role of parents & the God given rights parents have to be involved in the care of their children in all areas.  I wholeheartedly agree that students should participate in sex-specific sports & activities & use bathrooms that correspond to the sex they were born with.  To even suggest that boys use girls’ bathrooms because they “feel” like a girl opens up the opportunity for boys to take advantage of and attack girls in the bathrooms which has indeed happened.  This is the highest level of insanity!  Also, allowing boys to participate in women’s sports sets back all the progress that has been made in women’s sports.  To allow this is the highest form of discrimination AGAINST women.


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!!


SUPPORT proposed 2022 policies

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This is what Virginia needs to move forward in protecting our children and parental rights.


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!!


Strongly Oppose 2022 Model Policies

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<p>As both the mother of a kindergartener and the daughter, niece, and granddaughter of public educators, I oppose these policy changes that would force public school employees to make the impossible choice between following unreasonable rules (that give preference to a specific set of moral/religious beliefs) and providing support and a safe space for students in need. In an ideal world all children would involve their parents with any major challenge impacting their lives, including potentially transitioning. But not everyone who has a child is an ideal parent, and this policy change completely ignores this fact. Of course, I want the schools to encourage communication between a parent and child dealing with a difficult topic. However, mandating that schools force this communication to occur before a child is ready to discuss a complex subject like transitioning and before a parent is ready to hear it could do irreparable harm to the student and their relationship with their parent. Further, it will erode trust between students and school professionals when a student may be most in need of help.  I hope that my child will always be able to come to me with any problem or question that she has. But if she can't, then I'd equally hope there are teachers, counselors, etc. at school who could provide the support my child needs while respecting her privacy until she might be ready to talk to me or her father.  Our schools must remain a safe haven for students to cope with whatever challenges they are facing, particularly since some students tragically do not have a safe space at home. These reprehensible policy changes directly undermine this goal, and I therefore strongly recommend that the VDOE rescind them, leaving the existing 2021 Model Policies in place. </p>
<p> </p>


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults!


Judge finds transgender teen guilty of Loudoun County bathroom sexual assaults


I Oppose the VDOE Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in VA Public Schools

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I fully oppose the new model policies that the VDOE is bringing under the guidance of the Youngkin administration. What I want to focus on in particular in my comment is the definition of transgender students as written on pages 5 and 14. The document states, "The phrase “transgender student” shall mean a public school student whose parent has requested in writing, due to their child’s persistent and sincere belief that his or her gender differs with his or her sex, that their child be so identified while at school." The phrasing and claim that transgender students only believe they are transgender invalidates the experience that these students have. They do not believe that their gender identity differs from their assigned sex at birth, but rather they know that it does. The other issue at play is that a parent must make a request in order for their children to be identified as transgender at school. Many LGBTQIA+ individuals experience harassment, abuse, and even disownment from their families as a result of revealing their identities, and school can be a place where they can exist safely with friends and teachers. Only recognizing transgender students whose parents accept their children's identity opposes one of the purported purposes of the model policies which says that "All students have the right to attend school in an environment free from discrimination, harassment, or bullying." Due to the egregious attempt to discriminate against Virginia's transgender youth and to make schools less safe for them, I must oppose the guidance document on the model policies.


HIWASSEE TRANSGENDER VOLLEYBALL PLAYER SEVERELY INJURES FEMALE HIGH SCHOOLER WITH SPIKE TO THE FACE


Support mental health care for suicidal kids- not a free pass to girl’s locker rooms and restrooms.

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Society has rules and boundaries. I care for you and hope you grow up to become whoever makes you happy. But please respect others- stay out of the girls room. It makes others uncomfortable. It’s not all about you.


The new policies honor the role of parents in the care of their children during school.

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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.


I Oppose

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I empathize with the desire to protect a parent's right to raise their child according to their values and beliefs, however the unfortunate truth is that there are a disproportionate number of transgender children who could be subject to physical or verbal abuse if their transgender identity were disclosed to their parents. In the interest of prioritizing these children’s rights to safety in and out school over their parents’ rights to their gender identity information, I have concluded that this information should be kept private from parents unless it is the child’s wish to reveal it to them.

Regarding the model’s proposed policy on gender identification within schools being required to be based upon sex at birth unless approved by parents, I would remind lawmakers that in many cases parents react very negatively to learning that their children identify with a gender which differs from the one they were born with. In these cases, reactions can vary from long term neglect and verbal abuse, to things as serious as enacting or threatening physical abuse. For children whose parents are likely to or already have reacted in a deeply negative way to their gender identity, schools are often one of the few safe places in which they can be free to express themselves and learn about where they fit within the spectrum of gender in a safe and supportive environment. If enacted, this policy would remove these children’s ability to be recognized for the gender or pronouns they identify with should their parents not be in support of their decision. I am concerned that the proposed policy would increase the hardships these children already face. I also worry that this policy will result in children revealing their gender identity to their parents out of desperation to be recognized by their identifying gender, regardless of whether the child has reason to suspect a violent or harmful response would be likely to occur.

I voice these concerns in the hopes that they may inform policy such that the safety and security of these children is kept in mind and considered the highest priority by lawmakers within the state of Virginia. Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts and considerations.


Respect Others like You Respect Yourself

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I am a student at the University of Virginia and have been made aware of the issues facing the Virginia trans community.

My identity has been accepted by my government, my church, and my community. I cannot fathom living in an environment where I don’t receive this kind of support and validation. But that is exactly what will occur to the transgender community in the state of Virginia. The definition of sex as “biological sex” in the new proposed policy completely undermines those who identify differently. Now is the time to understand that gender can differ from the one we were assigned at birth. Not only do these new policies deny a trans member of privacy, but in addition dignity, respect, and most importantly equality.

I ask that you uphold a policy that ensures a trans person the same rights that a straight person or truly any citizen deserves. I do not stand by the 2022 Model Policies and implore you to not accept the 2022 Model Policies as the Model Policies of Virginia.

Thank you,

A UVA Student


Strongly oppose

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This legislation targets marginalized students instead of supporting them. How can a positive learning environment exist when individuals are viewed through a screen of fear?


Opposition 1000 and 10%

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“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
 there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
 When the soul lies down in that grass,
 the world is too full to talk about.
 Ideas, language, even the phrase “each other”
 doesn’t make any sense.
 The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
 Don’t go back to sleep.
 You must ask for what you really want.
 Don’t go back to sleep.
 People are going back and forth across the doorsill
 where the two worlds touch.
 The door is round and open.
 Don’t go back to sleep.”

I will keep you up all night. My son will keep you up all night.

The children of Virginia will keep you up ALL NIGHT.

Children's rights are human rights.

LGBTQ rights are human rights.

It will be a long night until all souls see the rising sun on that field in their pursuit of happiness.

That I promise you.


Please protect the basic rights of trans and nonbinary students

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<p>As an expert in educational leadership, I am utterly dismayed that the state of Virginia is considering this policy change that would drastically affect students who are trans and nonbinary. Contemporary research in medicine and psychology provides ample evidence that gender identity is deeply wired in our brains and is not something that can be chosen, and serious damage is caused by forcing individuals to suppress or deny their gender identity. Furthermore, trans and nonbinary students are already at risk of bullying and mental illness, and the state should not add discrimination on top of the burdens they already face. Trans and nonbinary students deserve to feel safe in school, as does every other student, and if the Department of Education were to listen to these students, they would realize that this policy change would be a grave mistake. </p>


Support the Governor's efforts to have common sense policies for schools.


Do not adopt the 2022 Model Policies

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It is imperative that Virginia rejects the 2022 model policies; these policies will only directly affect LGBTQ+ students. Only these students will be subject to harm, discrimination, and will be denied basic rights that all humans deserve. The 2022 Model Policies are not only based on misinformation (using incorrect definitions of both "sex" and "transgender," but they also fail to protect students of varying gender identities from harassment in schools.

Schools should provide safe spaces for students of ALL identities. No child should attend school in fear of their life. Feeling as though a student can be authentically themselves is deeply important in establishing a general feeling of safety in school.

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


Completely Support New Trans Policy

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I support this new policy because it supports families and the role & rights of parents with regard for their children. I know the where our children attend school, FCPS, much information is canceled from parents making it difficult to know what is happening in our children’s lives at school. Absolutely move forward with this new policy!!


I reject any form of harassment, or discrimination against trans and nonbinary youth.

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Last month, Governor Youngkin and the Virginia Department of Education proposed a deeply disturbing policy that endangers LGBTQI+ students.

Governor Youngkin's draft model policy is draconian, controlling, and rooted in transphobia. Trans and nonbinary students under this policy will be in danger of suffering:

Misgendering on a daily basis

Bullying and a learning environment with no accountability systems in place to address harassment

The inability to access sex-separated spaces matching their gender identity, which includes being prevented from using bathrooms or participating on sports teams matching their gender identity

Being outed to their parents by teachers without the student’s consent

LGBTQI+ students are already at a higher risk of suicide because of the isolation and stigmatization they face as a result of policies like the Virginia Department of Education’s that deny their identities and leave them unprotected. Virginia’s policy would only further ostracize already-marginalized students and leave them vulnerable to violence and ridicule in a world where their existence is not just denied, but increasingly labeled as dangerous-and even criminal-by extremists. Our students need us to support them, not discriminate against them.

I OPPOSE this guidance.


Support new policies for public schools

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We need the new proposed policies to protect our kids in schools.


Oppose

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<p>The proposed policies are based largely on fear and misinformation. It is in the students' best interest that the policies are made on evidence based practices and not politicians' personal biases. </p>


strongly oppose

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I strongly oppose the governor's proposal. I urge the Virginia Department of Education to withdraw these model guidelines as soon as possible.


Strongly oppose

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<p>I strongly oppose any attempt to make trans-identifying, non-binary, or otherwise non-cisgender kids feel alienated, “othered”, or like they don’t belong. Rhetoric like that used in this initiative by the governor is hateful and has no place in the Commonwealth.  </p>


I support this new policy.

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<p>I firmly believe in the parents being informed of anything that involves or pertains to their child. </p>


I support Governor Youngkin’s updated policy

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<p>I support the updated language put forth by Governor Youngkin. It is wrong to force teachers and kids to use language that violates their first Amendment or religious rights. Please finalize these updated policies as written without removing any of the protections to restore parental rights and to protect our kids’ privacy in the bathroom/ locker room and keep them from harm. It’s our job as parents to make wise choices for our kids who don’t have the maturity, life experience, or wisdom to do it! We know them best! The schools partner with us, not the other way around! We will not be silenced or bullied into compliance  on this or any other issue! </p>


Approve - parents are best advocate for their children

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


Strongly oppose

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<p>I am strongly opposed to this, in letter and in spirit. Our kids, our schools, our teachers and our parents deserve better. I realize that for the minds behind this type of policy, the cruelty is the point. Virginia is better than this. Strongly, vehemently oppose this. </p>


2022 model policy

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Trans and binary youth already have an uphill battle. They deserve to be protected and treated like everyone else. The 2022 policy will have a terrible impact on the safety, security, and mental health of these children. It is atrocious that it is even proposed


As a transgender student, I oppose.

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My name is Basil, I am a high school student in southern Virginia. I am a biologically male student that identifies as a female. My area, especially the older people, can be severely transphobic, including my family. This change in our Department of Education can put me, and many other transgender students in danger, especially if a parent is abusive. I luckily came out at the right point in time, so I am accepted by my father (albeit unhappily), but this may not be the same for others, as they may be at risk if their parents are contacted by schools sharing this information.

We consider school a safe space to be ourselves, and we do not wish to cause public distress. Those that identify as trans do not want to use the opposite gender locker rooms or bathrooms, as there are single-room areas we can use. We just want to live our lives, why are we being restricted? Is it wrong of me to appear female, when most of us have no ill intent? I have read comment after comment insulting us, and it hurts that we are judged for something that makes us feel happy and comfortable.

I am begging for you, on behalf of me and many others, to please consider the danger we may be put in, and how restricted we may feel. School is supposed to be an equal place for everyone, so please, reconsider.


I strongly support these pro-parent and pro-child policies!

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The new policies benefit both children and parents! They honor the sacred role of parents in the care of their children during school, athletics and other activities; they also respect a child's need for their parent's loving care and involvement.

Parents know their children’s needs better than anyone. If children are struggling with gender dysphoria, they need guidance and emotional support from parents.

Under the new policies, school officials must keep parents fully informed, and require schools to enforce laws, regulations and policies that prohibit and deter bullying or harassment.

Parents are the primary educators of their children. The school can assist parents in educating their children, but should not undermine parents or drive a wedge between children and parents. Children need their parents! These policies restore a proper balance.

Additionally, access to bathrooms and participation in sex-specific athletics or events should correspond to a student's sex. This keeps all students safe, but especially females! As a mother to an elementary -aged daughter, this is very important to me. We can respect everyone and provide accomodations (like single-user bathrooms), and keep girls safe at the same time.


Support for Governor Youngkin's parent protection laws!

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First and foremost, parents have the right to make decisions with respect to their own children, whom they are responsible for raising. Not the government or a school. Teachers and school staff should be respectful of parents and their parenting authority. Decisions concerning children should not be hidden from parents, or even undermined. Let's keep schools safe for all students. Thank you Governor Youngkin for these Model Policies 2022.


Parents Rights Must be Respected - I Strongly Support the New Policy

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Parents entrust their children to public schools for a certain purpose: to receive a good education. This fair and balanced policy respects the limited scope of that purpose and respects the preeminent role that parents have in the upbringing of their children. This policy will not only foster a safer place for all students, but recognizes the vast diversity of opinion on these issues in the Commonwealth. Specifically:

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

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

Thank you for your consideration and thank you to the Governor for his leadership on this.

Paul from Fairfax

PS: I would consider using en-dashes to describe ranges within code and statutory sections, reserving hyphens for appropriate single section citations.


Taking away basic human rights isn’t just or American.

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These proposed model policies are contrary to state law and will be extremely harmful to transgender and nonbinary kids.


I strongly oppose

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<p>Trans rights are human rights. </p>


Common Sense Approach

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<p>I am so impressed and pleased by this common sense and compassionate approach to supporting transgender children in Virginia. I am writing in support of the new model policy. Thank you, Virginia Department of Education! </p>


Transgender Bill Proposed by Gov. Youngkin - I strongly support it!

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Thank you, Governor Youngkin, for your support of parental rights! I believe that we, as parents of minor children, have an inherent right to be informed about these sensitive matters. Hopefully, the majority of parents have a close enough relationship with their children that they would want to talk to them FIRST and seek their counsel regarding these decisions. While this may not always be the case, parents have the primary responsibility of guiding their children in making wise decisions, especially when some of these decisions can have irreversible consequences!


Pro-parent policies in public schools

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Please be aware that parents are the first and the primary educators of their children.  No public authority may exercise the same or similar degree of sacred authority over children as parents.

Parents must be consulted in all things that involve their children's health and safety and personal well being.  School officials may not confer with children or advise children apart from the direct knowledge and direct consent of the children's parents.  Parents should be advised of all and every point mentioned by school officials when consulting with their children.

No child should be allowed (or forced) to use a bathroom or shower or changing facility that does not comport with the child's biological sex.

No child should  be forced or taught to use a pronoun or a word that denies the biological sex of another person.

No child should be demeaned or punished or shamed for refusing to deny the biological sex of another person.

No biological boy should be allowed to compete against a biological girl in sports.  No biological girl should be allowed to complete against a biological boy in sports.  The same should apply to teams--no biological boy should be on a biological girls' team and no biological girl should be on a biological boys' team.

Again, no biological boy should be allowed inside a biological girls' locker room, and no biological girl should be allowed in a biological boys' locker room.

Dressing & changing facilities for biological boys should be separate and distinct from those of biological girls.  Dressing & changing facilities for biological girls should be separate and distinct from those of biological boys.

All overnight travel and housing should respect the difference between biological boys and biological girls.

Any new public school policy should respect and protect the fundamental religious liberty of parents and children.


Strongly Oppose VDOE’s transgender model policies

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<p>All children should be protected especially the most vulnerable, including trans youth. These proposed policies are extremely harmful. </p>


This is mental health advocacy - it takes a village!

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<p>It takes a village to raise a child. This model policy acknowledges this reality. Students need the involvement and support of all stakeholders (parents/guardians, teachers, administrators, school counselors, community mental health service providers, medical professionals, etc.) as they set and work towards their goals. They cannot do so in isolation, and social media cannot be their primary shaping influence. Students need real people who care and are by their side. </p>


Fully support Governor Youngkins Policy

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<p>School is for learning the subjects necessary to progress into life and a career. Social issues are the parents responsibility to teach and guide period. </p>


Strongly oppose

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Students in Virginia deserve the dignity of being able to come out as they see fit and to be acknowledged by their preferred pronouns. Doing so has no downside whereas failing to do so is dehumanizing and dangerous since trans kids are at a greater risk of mental health problems, especially when they lack the support of their parents. In a perfect world, all parents would support their children's choice of pronoun and gender expression but since we don't live in a perfect world, a safe space can be provided in school.


SUPPORT TRANS YOUTH! SUPPORT TRANS RIGHTS! F*CK BIGOTS AND TRANSPHOBES!

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The push against trans rights is nothing but homophobic fear-mongering and bigotry. Trans girls are girls. Trans boys are boys. Gender does not equal sex. Reproductive organs do not equal gender. Gender and biological sex are not a binary. People have existed and been respected outside of the gender/sex binary for thousands of years, please read a ing anthropology book. A 12 year old trans girl has more courage than all the transphobes put together.


Governor Youngkin's Updated 2022 Guidance Document: Transgender Students in VA Public Schools

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Thank you Governor Youngkin for your recent updated policies for the public schools of VA in regard to restoring parental rights over the school/government rights, especially concerning the transgender issues that are so divisive and detrimental to our youth's mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. Parents should have full control of their minor children. Bathrooms, locker rooms, athletic teams, etc. should be evaluated on their biological gender not "feelings". Even if a parent supports their transgender child this should not infringe on the rights of privacy and safety of all others involved. Stop social engineering, return to teaching life skills of reading, writing, math, and science!


In support of updating VDOE policy

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


All Opposed

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We OPPOSE the proposed model policies and are in favor of keeping the 2021 model policies. I'm a parent in Virginia. I want my child to grow up and learn in schools that are inclusive and safe for all students.


Oppose strongly!

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<p>As the mother of a 15 year old cisgender boy, I can tell you that he and his friends who attend public school in Chestefield County could care less about how their friends choose to identify however they need to in order to be themselves.  To not allow kids to express their identities is cruel, and adults should not be acting like bullies to advance some ridiculous outdated ideas THEY have about gender.  I wonder.  Keep politics out of school and let kids be kids.  They don't have problems with this--YOU do.  Check yourselves.  Be good examples and show what it means to be supportive, when a kid's personal choice doesn't have anything to do with you personally.  </p>


Honor them as they have been created

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<p>They have been beautifully and wonderfully made, each one.  There is no benefit to acting as if they are something different.  This bill helps protect the innocence and well being of each child.  </p>


Let’s see if you can be division I athlete on the mens team which would level the playing field

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<p>That may be a little more difficult </p>


In strong opposition of these policies.

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<p>Trans and non-binary people exist. Research, science, and humanity begs the acceptance, and protection of that fact. These policies will severely hinder the love and support that should be extended to children, family, and our peers and I am in strong opposition. </p>


I support moving forward with the 2022 guidance document

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As a Virginia mother, thank you for proposing policies that 1) properly acknowledge the primary role of parents in a child's life and 2) protect girls, who should never have to fear a biological male may invade their bathrooms, dressing rooms, and sports activities.


Oppose

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<p>I oppose this guidance </p>


Totally agree with Youngkin’s policy

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I agree with Youngkin’s policy of allowing parents to make decisions for their children, who else is more qualified?


Support keeping girls safe at school. Thank you governor.

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Stop discriminating against girls. Give them back their bathrooms and sports teams.


Reject the VDOE Current Proposal

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I work in a public-facing position in local government, and while we're rural we do everything we can to be open, inclusive, and create spaces for people in our communities. What a lot of the comments seem to forget is that we can support everyone without leaving trans and LGBTQ+ kids and teenagers behind. It has gotten bad enough that even in public places, kids don't feel comfortable coming out to do fun things on their own if they think they might be harassed just for being in public. We can make small steps to show we care, but it defeats the purpose when the state government can roll back those policies whenever a new administration takes office. We need lasting protections for students, with ways of helping start conversations with parents when those kids feel comfortable and when they know they're not in danger. Homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth is so high in the state because they get rejected when coming out to their parents and are summarily forced on the street. Making schools harder for them when they are already facing so much pressure is the last thing that most parents want. Please reject the new changes to the VDOE's policies.


Let transgender student-athletes compete

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The 2021 Model Policies required that “[s]chools shall eliminate the practice of segregating students by gender to the extent possible.” These policies also required that when event participation was sex-segregated, school districts had to “allow students to participate in a manner consistent with their gender identity.”

The 2022 Model Policies remove the provision requiring schools to eliminate sex-segregation as much as possible. Now, these policies require that sex-segregation be based on biological sex as opposed to gender identity. While the 2022 Model Policies state, “[School Division] shall provide reasonable modifications to this policy only to the extent required by federal law,” they require districts to break federal law while trying to save face and tell them to follow it within the very same paragraphs.

This is wrong because it does not protect the rights of transgender student-athletes to practice and compete in sports consistent with their gender. As a Division I athlete, I understand firsthand how beneficial sports can be for physical health and social development. I also have had several experiences with transgender teammates, all of which have been positive and felt fair. If transgender students are forced to experience dysphoria and be blatantly disrespected by the VDOE at practice and games, their learning and growing will be stifled. Requiring segregation by biological sex (as defined earlier in the Model Policies) negates the social integration and camaraderie fostered by athletics and other activities. Extracurriculars should be a safe environment for every student.

This affects every transgender student-athlete in the state of Virginia. They could potentially be forced to leave their friends, coaches, and support systems if forced to switch teams based on biological sex. It affects future college athletes and Olympians in the making.

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


I concur with Gov Youngkin’s new policy proposals.

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<p>Our parents should know and make decisions that pertains to their children. Gov Youngkin’s new policies are well said and needs to be adopted for the protection of all. </p>


Support for Govenor Youngkin's policies

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<p>I support Govenor Youngkin's policies for acknowledging parents' rights in public schools. Parents have a right and duty to educate their children. They need to know if their child is attempting to make life altering decisions. </p>


I OPPOSE VDOE 2022 Model Policies on LGBTQ Students

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I'm a two-time Fairfax County Public Schools parent and I strongly oppose Governor Youngkin's proposed model policy on the rights of trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming students. Although the ostensible intent of the model policies is to ensure parents have a say in their students' educational content and experience within the school system, some of the implications are to enable teachers and students to impose a gender identification on a trans/non-binary/gender-non-conforming student that is not of their choosing. The model policies, moreover, forbid the use of restroom facilities that align with students' chosen gender identities. Both of these implications lead to or inflict inexcusable discrimination, harassment, and emotional pain on that student, and the latter restriction is in violation of established law (Grimm vs. Gloucester County School Board).

These 'remedies' contemplated in the 2022 model policies impede equal access and a safe and respectful environment for students of all identities, gender or otherwise, which goal should be above everything else.

Further, It is not the role of public schools, as institutions of the state, to craft policies that favor or reflect the religious beliefs of one or other groups, thereby excluding or otherwise creating an unwelcoming environment for those who do not conform.

Lastly, in the case of Fairfax County Public Schools, school board policy and regulations enable and amply encourage child/parent communication, and participation of the parents in the crafting of a team-based supportive and protective environment for the student.


Fully support parental rights!

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I fully support parental rights!!


Strongly OPPOSE 2022 Model Policy

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I am writing as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and as someone who loves a transgender child in Virginia, to OPPOSE the 2022 model DOE policy in the strongest possible manner.

Ostracizing, outing, and harming transgender children will not stop them from being transgender. However, it will increase their vulnerability to bullying, family abuse, and mental health issues.

The 2022 policy is not rooted in science or biology, but in transphobia. As a parent of children in Virginia's schools, I know the 2022 model policy will not increase safety or well-being for any children, and will significantly decrease safety and well-being for many.

I urge Virginia NOT to implement the 2022 policy, and instead to continue the policy that was previously put in place to support all of Virginia's children.


I oppose these cruel, duplicitous, and unlawful proposed policies

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The Department of Education’s proposed policies are cruel. They specifically target a vulnerable and oppressed group of children, making their lives more difficult and painful. The policies undermine, demean, and oppress transgender and gender non-conforming students. Transgender children, like all children, should be going to class, taking part in school activities, seeking guidance from teachers and staff, and enjoying time with friends. Instead, under the proposed policies, they face a bleak daily gauntlet of fear, shame, and oppression. Will a teacher out me? Can I hold off using the bathroom until I get home? How many times will teachers heartlessly deadname or misgender me in front of the entire class? Why can’t I play sports with my friends? It’s difficult to imagine how a child could feel valued and respected, much less focus on learning in such an environment. Even worse, these cruel policies would exacerbate the already heartbreaking prevalence of suicide and suicide attempts among transgender children.

The Department of Education’s proposed policies are duplicitous. They claim to protect students, uphold the Constitution, and create the foundation for providing a high-quality education. They speak of privacy, dignity, and respect. They are in fact a darkly cynical dog-whistle. The high-minded rhetoric attempts to obscure a chilling reality: the proposed policies would invade the privacy of transgender students (Let’s out kids!), undermine their dignity (Let’s force kids who’ve already transitioned to use the wrong bathroom!), and weaponize the state to attack their self-respect (Deadnaming and misgendering will only help those kids!). The policies claim to uphold the 1st Amendment, but only in one direction: to demean children. Teachers would have the 1st Amendment right to deadname and misgender students—despite anything the child or their parents’ request. But teachers are strictly forbidden to use a student’s genuine name and pronouns without a legal name change and parental approval.

The Department of Education’s proposed policies are unlawful. In theory, they are meant to implement the provisions of the Virginia Values Act. That bipartisan, landmark legislation protects LGBTQ Virginians from discrimination in their daily lives, including when attending public schools. The proposed policies directly contradict and undermine the very law it claims to implement. The policies discriminate against transgender youth by denying them access to bathrooms, activities, personal dignity, and a safe learning environment—not for harming anyone, but simply for existing, simply for being transgender. These discriminatory proposed policies represent a draconian change for the worse directly aimed at children. The Department claims it has the authority to implement these policies, and the Administration says it plans to enforce them. Yet, these policies were never introduced, never discussed, and never debated in the General Assembly. Instead of a democratic process, the Department’s proposal would overturn bipartisan legislative action and enacted law. That is not lawful. That is not democracy. That is not the Virginia way. What will happen the next time the Department or the Administration seeks to ignore statute, bypass the legislative process, and simply inflict its unsubstantiated beliefs on the Commonwealth via administrative proclamation?


Only an absolute pervert would advocate for boys to use girls locker rooms and shower facilities.


Oppose 2022 policies

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I am a Virginia resident and the mother of two young adult sons who recently graduated from Fairfax County Public Schools. I am writing to express my strong opposition to the 2022 Model Policies, for several reasons.

First, and most importantly, these policies are deeply dangerous to transgender students.  These policies will harm their mental health, because they will feel forced to hide their true selves, and will not feel seen and respected.  One recent study reports that 86 percent of transgender youth have considered killing themselves, and 56 percent have actually attempted suicide.  Peer support, a sense of connectedness at school, and relationships with supportive adults are all protective factors against suicide, and these policies will make it harder for transgender students, especially those who are already at risk due to strained family relationships, to receive this support. Others will be victims of physical violence from their families if they are outed. While I deeply wish that we lived in a world where all parents acted in the best interests of their children, that is not the world we live in.

Second, these policies are harmful to a wider range of gender non-conforming children.  My sons are both cisgender.  But at different times, both of them have worn their hair long, and one of them sometimes has chosen to wear sparkly sneakers and nail polish to school.  If these policies were in place when they were students, their teachers or school counselors would have been required to determine whether they were "socially transitioning" or "expressing a gender that differs with their... sex."  These conversations would have been awkward at best, painful and traumatizing at worst.  And they would have been a waste of everyone's time and energy.

Third, these policies impose a huge burden on schools, school boards, teachers and administrators, at a time when they are already struggling to overcome the loss of learning due to the pandemic.  These policies claim to provide "clear and useful guidance" to school boards, but absolutely fail to do so.  For example, the guidance directs boards to make "single-user bathrooms and facilities" available while simultaneously citing the Fourth Circuit Appeals Court ruling in Grimm v. Gloucester County which makes clear that providing transgender students with a separate "alternative appropriate private facility" is not acceptable.

And finally, these policies completely fail to meet the statutory requirements of 22.1-22.3 of the Code of Virginia, which they claim to implement.  They are *not* in accordance with evidence-based best practices, and completely fail to ensure that all students will experience a safe and supportive learning environment free from discrimination and harassment.  The mere repeated assertation of a false statement in the guidance document does not make it true, and it is Orwellian doublespeak to suggest otherwise.

I urge the Virginia Department of Education to withdraw these model guidelines as soon as possible.

Thank you for your consideration.


Oppose

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<p>I oppose the new guidance and recommend a return to the 2021 model policy which had been adopted. The new guidance purports to offer respect and care of all students but it does NOT care for or respect the the entire LGBT community and specifically disregards the rights of transgender students. School should be a safe place for students to explore who they are as they develop, whether that’s a STEM enthusiast, someone trying a new sport, becoming a leader on school council, or acknowledging a non-binary gender or a transgender identity. </p>


Agree completely. Protect our

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I completely agree with this 100%. Parents should be able to make decisions like this for their children. Our children should not be introduced to anything regarding sex until parents agree. Schools should not teach our children about transgender ideology or teach them to use incorrect pronouns. Teaching that way is just teaching our kids that it's OK to be transgender. It is not the school or teachers right to make those decisions. Our children deserve a safe and appropriate education just as every other child. Keep the rights with the parents!


I oppose because ALL children in Virginia should be protected

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Governor Youngkin’s model policy is based off of false, backwards rhetoric that alienates LGBTQIA+ children. Rather than protect children, the proposed model policy is incredibly harmful to the safety and well-being of Transgender students. No child should be forced to suffer because of the biases held by others. The model policy only serves citizens that wish to push LGBTQIA+ students into the invalidating, unfair, and painful treatment of the past. Fear mongering has convinced parents that Transgender students are a danger toward other children. They are not, and they deserve as much care and protection as any other child. Protecting children means protecting ALL children, not just those who adhere to your traditional standards.


Oppose

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I strongly oppose the 2022 Model policies. I have yet to understand the arguments that support anything that forces a child to be something they are not. I do understand people feel uncomfortable with having the newer-to-them science available that gender is a spectrum, that people inhabit all places along that spectrum. (for more on this see many many sources, including: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/voices/stop-using-phony-science-to-justify-transphobia/)

Discomfort is not always to be feared-- it can be a sign of new synapses growing, new learning happening. Policies should not be written based on discomfort alone. Policies that support trans children do not threaten anyone's existence or adversely impact anyone who may feel happy with being a boy or girl from birth. Policies that do NOT support trans children create conditions for suicide, addiction, and create wide negative impact.

Thank you so much for all your work and service.


Strong support for the new policy

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The new policy is kind and reasonable, and considers all of our kids and families. Thank you Governor Youngkin! I greatly appreciate your work and sensible approaches for Virginians.


Do Not Adopt the 2022 Model Policy

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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 disclosure of a student's gender identity in situations involving unsupportive parents can have a direct and immediate impact on the health and well-being of the student. The State clearly has no legal interest in creating the conditions for minors to be forced into homelessness and housing instability, and policy that does so is clearly informed only by ignorance and bigotry.

This affects many of my close friends, who would live in a less safe, open, and accepting Virginia under this policy. Their privacy, and thus their safety, would be explicitly limited for no educational benefit, and they deserve a state that treats them far better.

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


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 devisive 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. Schools should focus on the education of the child and helping to achieve self worth through education and opportunity, and not "parent" children, especially in such a hurtful manner that harms children and erodes the family unit. Thank you for your support in protecting our youth who are our country's future.

Sincerely,
Christina Stubbs
7 W Braddock Rd
Alexandria, VA 22301

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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 devisive 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. Schools should focus on the education of the child and helping to achieve self worth through education and opportunity, and not "parent" children, especially in such a hurtful manner that harms children and erodes the family unit. Thank you for your support in protecting our youth who are our country's future.<br /><br />Sincerely,
<br />Christina Stubbs
<br />7 W Braddock Rd<br />Alexandria, VA 22301<br /><img src="http://admin.phone2action.com/email/open/leg/657523/148785034" width="1" height="1" />


Transgender Student Policy Guidance

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Governor Youngkin, I am looking at the 1983 yearbook for your high school, Norfolk Academy in Norfolk, Virginia. On page 65, I see you, a sophomore in high school.  The attractive young man in the picture looks directly at me. On page 201, I see you on the Varsity Basketball team, standing at the center of the photograph, behind the kneeling team captains.  You look like a leader, someone who wants to come out ahead. Suppose, Governor, things had been otherwise for you. Suppose you felt a difference in yourself compared to your buddies and teammates.  A difference that you feared would separate you from your friends and team. Suppose also that you worried about upsetting your parents by sharing these feelings of “being different” with them. You are so concerned about your intense, conflicting feelings about your identity (not an unusual circumstance during adolescence), you share your worries with a trusted coach or teacher. Under the 2022 Model Policies pursuant to Virginia School Code 22.1 -23.3, the coach or teacher, fearful of running afoul of the 2022 Model Policies, consults with school administrators ( I taught in a high school for 17 years and, for the last 7 years of my teaching, was a teacher/school counselor).  The school administrators act in accordance with your Model Policies, Appendix 1, Sample Policy, Section III, Section D “Identification of Students” which states:  No policy, guidance, training, or other written material issued by the [School Division] may encourage or instruct teachers to conceal material information about a student from the student’s parent, including information related to gender (page 14). Your parents will be informed about the confidences you shared.  If no member of the counseling staff is involved in this process, you may not be informed that your parents are to be notified until after the fact.  The decision to inform your parents or not is ripped from your hands.  Thoughts and feelings which you wanted to keep private become a source of disruption between you and your parents, and, perhaps, your family and your school.  In addition, you now agonize about the ways in which your parents, your friends, and your coaches and teachers see you.  Even if confidentiality was maintained, you worry about people’s perceptions of you.  You have lost control over information about yourself which you desperately wanted to process further only seeking some guidance from a trusted adult whom you chose.  Given my career experiences, I can imagine that teacher/counselor/coach torn between respecting a student’s confidences and fearing losing their job and the means to support their family.  Governor Youngkin, what is “material information”?  It is not defined in the document.  2022 Model Policies pursuant to Virginia School Code 22.1 -23.3, proposed by your administration, is potentially explosive for the effect the policies will likely have for a small number of Virginia families.  But even one Virginia family disrupted by these policy guidelines is too many. I have been a psychologist in private practice for 10 years.  I have seen the effects of disruption and loss of trust in families. Please reconsider these policies. They are the wrong direction for Virginia’s youth and for their families.  Rebecca P. Kiefer, Ph.D. (Retired)  Henrico, Virginia


Incredibly Against Anti-Trans Policies In Schools

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I know no extent of scientific articles or even impassioned human pleas will change the minds of people set in their ways, so I will leave it at this:

I, a cisgendered Chesterfield County Public Schools student, have never once felt threatened in any way by a transgender peer of mine simply because they were trans.  If someone has taken the steps to socially transition, their word is good enough for me - no one would risk the public shaming they may face as a joke or as part of a plot.  Students who aren't aligned with the gender binary simply want to live their life the way that they see themselves.

Is it worth driving people to the point of harming or even killing themselves because of outdated prejudice?