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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1/13/21  4:42 pm
Commenter: Penny Bonadonna

Proposed Transgender policy
 

I am strongly opposed to the proposed transgender policy.

This policy allows, indeed requires schools to deceive parents about their own children.  This is unconscionable.  Schools do not stand in a parental position to students.  It is your job to educate, not raise, present values or propagandize.

This policy does not have the well being of children in mind.  It is a sop to the LGBTQ movement.  It encourages children to doubt their identity, leaving parents completely in the dark.  That is not your job!

Parent s who would encourage their children to accept their (obvious) biological identity could be accused of child abuse.  This is completely unacceptable.

This policy would allow biological males in private spaces with biological females and vice versa, again with no knowledge given to parents.  This takes no account of children who would be upset by this practice.  It leaves girls especially vulnerable to sexual abuse, harassment and intimidation.

This policy requires the use of "preferred pronouns," and failure to use them would be considered discriminatory or harassment.  This puts teachers and staff  in the untenable position of either supporting a ridiculous policy which does harm to children or violating their own conscience.

There is no way to know what the consequences of this policy might be on vulnerable children.  Yet you propose to implement it anyway.  That is reckless disregard for the children you are supposed to be educating.  Please do not do this.

CommentID: 89901