- Today, the 30-Day public comment period opened on Glenn Youngkin’s proposed anti-trans Virginia Department of Education model policy in Virginia public schools. Governor Youngkin proposed these policies with the descriptors, “Privacy, Dignity, and Respect” while citing his ongoing campaign promise of “protecting parental rights in education” as a reason for this decision. However, these policies have little to do with “privacy, dignity, and respect.”
These model policies are rooted in transphobia and only seek to further harm trans and non-binary kids. They create a hostile and potentially dangerous school environment for those same students as they require teachers and staff to “forcibly out” students to their parents against the student’s will, even in cases where students seek counseling for abusive at home environments.
POST YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT AGAINST THESE ANTI-TRANS POLICIES
Youngkin’s policies would prohibit educators from using students’ affirming names and pronouns to help support their students and their mental health. Putting trans students further into harm's way, they also force the students into a bathroom and sports policy that do not adhere to their true gender identity, making them potential targets for bullying, abuse, and violence.
In 2021, Governor Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Values Act into law after it was passed through the General Assembly. This law sweepingly, effectively prohibited
discrimination in public and private employment, credit, housing, and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, among other additional protected categories. The protections in this act have been extended to protect LGBTQ+ youth in Virginia public schools throughout the Commonwealth to prohibit discrimination, harassment, and violence in against these students.
TL;DR Governor Youngkin’s policies explicitly contradict state law and are illegal.
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