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  1:50 pm
Commenter: Amanda Gould

Strong support: this will save trans youth's lives
 

I want to voice my strong support for this guidance document. The Trevor Project has done comprehensive studies show that LGBTQ youth are 40% less likely to commit suicide if they have one supportive adult in their life. They also show episode of LGBT victimization, such as physical or verbal harassment or abuse, increases the likelihood of self-harming behavior by 2.5 times on average. Training and equipping schools to be able to provide the support, resources, and protection for trans students will literally save lives. It does not hurt anyone to protect trans youth. It does, however, hurt and can even potentially kill trans youth to not create supportive and safe environments for them.

CommentID: 95508