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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2/3/21  1:48 pm
Commenter: Marc DeFrancis

VDOE Trans and Non-Binary Student Protections
 

  I am writing to urge passage of protections for our transgender and nonbinary students across Virginia. The moral issue is fairly simple:

  • Trans and nonbinary students don't "choose" their gender any more than they choose their race or ethnicity; they discover as they age what gender identity is natural for them.
  • It is always wrong to single out a child for separate treatment, segregated schooling, or second-class status based on a non-chosen characteristic.
  • Trans and binary kids need access to restrooms like any other human beings, and they deserve full participation in sports, gym class, and everything else we taxpayers pay for so our children and our neighbors' children can thrive and learn.
  • Therefore, it only makes sense to allow these kids, like all kids, to use the restrooms that correspond to their gender identity; to do otherwise is to subject them to endless harassment.
  • Even if this issue is new to many educators and voters, many of whom have no transgender friends or neighbors or coworkers, that is no reason to deny its seriousness to the small minority among us who live with their transgender identity every day, including the children in three families I happen to know through my neighborhood and church.

Thank you.

 

CommentID: 95504