Dear John, Since the Virginia Department of Education released their newly proposed 2022 Model Policies two weeks ago, there has been a massive effort across the state to mobilize against this new guidance that seeks to roll back protections for transgender and nonbinary students. We know that folks have likely been feeling a mix of emotions recently, from anger or anxiety in response to the content of the new policies, to encouragement and excitement seeing so many people speak out, write public comments, and walk out of their schools in protest. While these next few weeks will be heavy in many ways, there is also joy and connection to be found as we work together to push back on these policies - and we hope everyone is able to access that collective joy as we move forward in our advocacy. As you likely already know, the state will be accepting public comment on the 2022 Model Policies until October 26th. Thanks to the hard work of folks like you, there are over 52,000 comments on the policies already - and many of these are in opposition to the guidance! But we can’t let up now. If you haven’t submitted a public comment against the policies yet, you can do so on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall - just click “Enter a Comment” at the top of the page. Encourage your friends, family, and co-workers to submit a comment, as well - it’s going to take all of us! We understand that navigating to this page and potentially seeing comments with harmful language in support of the policy can be a negative or triggering experience for folks, which is why we’ve created our own Public Comment Portal where you can submit your comment instead, and we’ll upload it to the Town Hall page for you. If you're looking for support with crafting your public comment, visit the Public Comment Hub on our website for additional information on the newly proposed policies, as well as tips, research, and prompting questions that will help guide you as you draft your statement. Additionally, every Monday and Wednesday at 12:00 PM through October 26th, Equality Virginia will be hosting Public Comment Trainings to answer questions and provide further assistance around writing a public comment. Last but not least, for folks who feel called to speak in person against the proposed guidance, there will be an opportunity to do so on Thursday, October 20th at 9:00 AM at the Virginia Board of Education’s monthly business meeting. If you are interested in coming to Richmond to attend the meeting and/or give a verbal public comment with us on that day, please fill out the form below! |
