Virginia Regulatory Town Hall View Comments

Department of Education

State Board of Education

Guidance Document Change: The Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools guidance document was developed in response to House Bill 145 and Senate Bill 161, enacted by the 2020 Virginia General Assembly, which directed the Virginia Department of Education to develop and make available to each school board model policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public elementary and secondary schools. These guidelines address common issues regarding transgender students in accordance with evidence-based best practices and include information, guidance, procedures, and standards relating to: compliance with applicable nondiscrimination laws; maintenance of a safe and supportive learning environment free from discrimination and harassment for all students; prevention of and response to bullying and harassment; maintenance of student records; identification of students; protection of student privacy and the confidentiality of sensitive information; enforcement of sex-based dress codes; and student participation in sex-specific school activities, events, and use of school facilities.

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2/3/21 8:16 am

Commenter: Mari Litz

OPPOSE this bill 100%!!!!

I could not oppose this bill more than I do now! This bill does nothing to protect the majority of students. This bill blatantly ignores the privacy, security and concerns of hundreds of thousand of kids, especially girls. Your duty is to protect and serve all children that us as parents have placed in your trust.

You are not finding a compromise to give respect and privacy to transgender students AND all other students. If a student is uncomfortable using a restroom or locker room with people of their biological sex, why is it then not okay to address concerns of students who are now in a bathroom or locker room with people of the opposite sex? You have essentially made bathrooms and locker rooms coed by not placing ANY restrictions here during the most formative and awkward time in children’s lives. How is that a good thing?

Many parents have opted this year to put their children in private schools or to homeschool them. This will only increase with this overreach into our children’s privacy and security as parents have become more comfortable with other tools and resources available to them! And before you think, “Great, we will have more funds for less # of students!”, I can guarantee the students you have lost and will lose are in the upper echelon of your test scores - and we all know that does directly impact your perceived success!

I URGE you to reconsider this policy and draft a new policy that address’s concerns of ALL students and not just the extreme few! You will not be able to appease everyone 100%, but you can show that you respect and value ALL students by coming up with policy that reflects everyone’s concerns even if you do not fully agree with them.

CommentID: 94845