Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
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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1/8/21  3:09 pm
Commenter: Tamela Frick

Strongly OPPOSE these transgender policies
 

I strongly oppose these transgender policies. Schools have a duty to protect the bodily privacy and inherent dignity of all students. Parents and children should not be pitted against one another in this situation. The model regulations infringe upon the First Amendment rights of parents to raise and care for their children. So many children will feel afraid to go into a bathroom at school if they are not assured that someone of the opposite biological sex will not be in that room. These guidelines are absurd and have no place in any school at all. Boys are boys and girls are girls. Biological sex is determined at conception and cannot be changed because someone feels like they should be the opposite sex. The Virginia Department of Education has gone far beyond the path the General Assembly prescribed. No child should be forced to shower with, share a locker room or hotel room or other intimate setting with someone of the opposite sex. Schools should not be accommodating this harmful view during youth or encouraging these harmful irreversible "gender transitions" Parental rights are at stake. Schools cannot permit major life decisions to be made by children and adolescents without parental knowledge or permission. These model policies are not safe for children physically, mentally or spiritually. I strongly oppose these transgender policies. They are highly immoral, unethical and oppose common sense completely.

CommentID: 89027