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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1/5/21  12:50 pm
Commenter: Patty, Grandparent

Concerned Garndparent-needs revision
 

While I do not believe the state has the right to take the decision about gender issues away from the parent, I can understand the concern in the schools. The ultimate responsibility for children, should always be with the parent, not the sate/school. I do not support this bill as written as I think it will create more confusion for children in our communities. I do think children that are suffering with gender dysphoria need support and this should be something that is address with parents and schools in partnership. However, by creating confusion and chaos for all other children in the school system by allowing the use of bathrooms and dressing rooms by anyone and making children and educators subjected to disciplinary action for not using a specific pronoun is not the way to solve this issue. People have the right to identify however they want but all others should not be punished or subjected to disciplinary action or forced to not honor their their religious beliefs because of the beliefs of a few. If a child is being bullied or made fun of because of gender issues, then disciplinary action is appropriate but not just because of using the wrong "pronoun." I strongly disapprove of this bill. It needs major revision to address the issue and I don't know what the answer is but this is bill is not the answer.

CommentID: 88297