To Whom It May Concern,

This is dangerous given science states a person’s brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. Per a 2013 BBC article, “Child psychologists are being given a new directive which is that the age range they work with is increasing from 0-18 to 0-25...Neuroscience has shown that a young person's cognitive development continues into this later stage and that their emotional maturity, self-image and judgement will be affected until the prefrontal cortex of the brain has fully developed.” (source: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24173194)

If a brain is not fully developed & prior to age 25 decisions are based purely on emotions, then all the Education Department will do is create a bunch of gender confused kids who at age 9 say they want to be the opposite gender because it is a trend or to get attention for themselves but at age 10-13 say it was a mistake. Those even considering this must have never been exposed to kids since children are fickle little people. The job of a school is train and educate kids on how to use their knowledge to get a job and to succeed in life, not identity politics. A friend, René, transitioned as an adult from a man to a woman in the early 1990s because he always thought of himself as a woman. René got into a relationship and when she told her boyfriend about transitioning, he no longer wanted to see her. She told my mom “It was the worst decision she made.” This has always stuck with me because it made me sad René was not happy as a man nor as a woman. So sad is the lie of follow your heart. I do not believe it is right for children to be exposed to transgenderism because it mentally messes with young minds who are discerning between right/wrong as well as truth/lies. You cannot teach children that 1+0=1 when you tell them they can be a boy one day and a girl the next day. That destroys trust and will expose children to abuse within the school system and at home. I really hope you all listen to those voicing opposition to this instead of the special interest groups and Northern VA liberals in favor of corrupting every institution with identity politics.

Thank you for your time.