["It is shameful to pin your political hopes on your willingness
to harm an already marginalized group of kids," said one critic of the
Republican governors plan to roll back transgender students rights.]
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WALKOUTS UNDERWAY IN VIRGINIA AGAINST YOUNGKIN’S ATTACK ON TRANS
STUDENTS  
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Brett Wilkins
September 27, 2022
Common Dreams
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_ "It is shameful to pin your political hopes on your willingness to
harm an already marginalized group of kids," said one critic of the
Republican governor's plan to roll back transgender students' rights.
_

Virginia students participate in a September 27, 2022
commonwealth-wide walkout in protest of a proposed rollback of
transgender student rights by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. , Pride
Liberation Project/Twitter

 

THOUSANDS OF HIGH SCHOOL students walked out of classrooms across
Virginia on Tuesday to protest a plan by Republican Gov. Glenn
Youngkin that critics say aims to repress transgender youth amid
growing nationwide GOP-led attacks on LGBTQ+ rights.

Chanting "trans rights are human rights," "DOE, let us be," and other
slogans, students at scores of schools took part in demonstrations
calling for the rejection of model Virginia Department of Education
policies proposed
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earlier this month by Youngkin that, if approved, would force schools
to categorize pupils according to scientifically dubious
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"biological sex."

The proposed changes would reverse existing trans-affirming
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guidelines that some students have credited with saving their lives.
In what some opponents have called another attempt to erase trans
people, the proposal limits the definition of "transgender student" to
someone "whose parent has requested in writing, due to their child's
persistent and sincere belief that his or her gender differs with his
or her sex, that their child be so identified while at school."

"We're walking out today to make it clear to @GovernorVA that students
can't learn if we're worried about abuse, harassment, depression, and
our rights," the advocacy group Pride Liberation Project, which
organized the walkouts, said
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Twitter. "All we want is to be able to learn in an inclusive school
that [lets] us thrive like every other student."

Pride Liberation Project organizer Nat Sanghvi told
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_Teen Vogue _that "as a minority student... I've found that schools
can be some of the most safe places for people like me, and my initial
reaction was just sheer shock" when she learned about Youngkin's
proposal.

"It's harming students," the 17-year-old said of the model policies.
"It's a clear attack at LGBTQI+ students across the state of Virginia.
And if this does get [approved], it will impact every single student
in Virginia."

Others expressed solidarity with the protesting students, with one
parent tweeting
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is for lovers, not for haters," a riff on the commonwealth's longtime
tourism and travel slogan.

The abortion rights group REPRO Rising Virginia tweeted
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Tuesday's walkout "once again proves the collective power that young
people have. They are a VITAL part of our movement and should be
treated as such!"

Josh Throneburg, a self-described "Christian progressive" running as a
Democrat to represent Virginia's 5th U.S. Congressional District,
blasted
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"Youngkin's cruel and regressive policies targeting trans youth."

"It is shameful to pin your political hopes on your willingness to
harm an already marginalized group of kids," he tweeted.

Although entitled_ 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and
Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools_,
critics say the proposed changes are meant to prevent the
commonwealth's roughly 4,000
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transgender students from participating on sports teams or using
restrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities that match their gender
identity.

Under the proposal, any student name changes—including nicknames and
even pronouns—must be approved by parents, while educators may
refuse to call students by their preferred names if it violates their
beliefs.

The model policies also suggest parents should be informed of a
student's gender identity—even if the pupil does not
consent—raising fears among some trans youth that they could be
outed.

When asked in a recent interview what he would say to trans youth
whose families who do not accept their gender identity, Youngkin
replied
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"I would say, trust your parents."

However, according to [[link removed]]
the latest survey conducted by the Trevor Project, an advocacy group,
close to half of all LGBTQ+ youth considered ending their own lives,
while 1 in 5 trans youth tried to kill themselves.

Legal experts say Youngkin's policies likely violate federal and state
laws. In an interview last week with _The Washington Post_, employment
and civil rights attorney Joshua Erlich said
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that the governor "is trying to pick a political fight by attacking
trans students, but his model policies are in conflict with recent
court rulings," which have determined that "discrimination against
transgender individuals is illegal discrimination on the basis of
sex."

In_ Bostock v. Clayton County_, for example, conservative U.S. Supreme
Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, an appointee of former President Donald
Trump, wrote
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for the majority that it is "clear" that the 1964 Civil Rights Act
prohibits employer discrimination against  LGBTQ+ people.

In another decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
ruled
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that a transgender boy could use the boys' restrooms in his school—a
case the Supreme Court declined to hear on appeal. 

University of Richmond School of Law professor Jack Preis told
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the _Post_ that teachers might not even be aware of a student's
"biological sex"—a term the directive does not define—due to
ambiguous names or clothing.

"Privacy rights are going to prevent many teachers from even knowing
whether or not they are teaching a trans student," said Preis, who
also noted that the policies don't address intersex or nonbinary
children. The latter may have U.S. passports or Virginia driver's
licenses showing their gender identity.

Youngkin's model policies won't take effect until after a 30-day
public comment period that began on Monday. As of early Tuesday
afternoon, more than 20,000
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public comments—most of them opposing the proposal—had been
submitted.

Some school districts reached out to students and parents ahead of
Tuesday's walkouts. _WTOP_ reports
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Loudon County parents received an email assuring them that their
public school is a "safe place for students to exercise their freedom
of expression."

"Students who choose to demonstrate will not be penalized," the email
added.

Tuesday's protests occurred as legislatures and governors in
Republican-controlled states have in recent years passed or proposed
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eliminating or limiting the rights of LGBTQ+—and especially
transgender—youth, including restroom
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and sports
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bans.

In Texas, GOP Gov. Greg Abbott stoked fear, outrage, and resistance
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earlier this year when he ordered state officials to investigate
gender-affirming healthcare as possible "child abuse."

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel
free to republish and share widely.
===

* Students Protest Anti-Trans Actions in Virginia; Restroom and
Sports Bans; LGBTQ+Rights;
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