RICHMOND, Va. – How should transgender youth be treated in Virginia schools?
That’s the question Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration is asking Virginians as part of their online public comment town hall.
“This is about parents and this is about kids,” said Youngkin at a GOP campaign rally Wednesday.
The proposed changes require a parent’s approval before the school will recognize a student with a trans experiences’ gender, different name, or pronouns, and requires legal documents before school record changes can be made.
The Governor said his policy does a lot to address bullying, which he said will not be tolerated. Associate Professor of History at Roanoke College Dr. Samantha Rosenthal echoed that statement.
“When we don’t use a trans child’s name correctly, we’re humiliating them. Same thing with pronouns,” stated Dr. Rosenthal, who also lives with a trans experience.
The forum entered its final day with more than 60,000 comments of mixed opinions.
The Virginia State Conference of the NAACP held a virtual press conference Wednesday “strongly” opposing the model policies.
“A student’s first amendment right does not end at the schoolhouse door. It is our goal to ensure that all students are respected, and cared for and that their well-being is at the forefront of their safety,” said Virginia President Robert N. Barnette.
Dr. Rosenthal shared several local programs that support trans youth: Youth SAGA, Roanoke Diversity Center, and Diversity (summer) Camp.
Other state organizations have different opinions. The Family Foundation encouraged commenters to support the proposed changes.
“Gov. Youngkin’s education department rewrote the transgender-issue policies – that have been used to cut parents out of the process – in a way that restores basic parental and student-safety rights,” said Victoria Cobb on The Family Foundation’s website.
The Governor encourages every parent to read the new model policies from the Virginia Department of Education.
“They’ll be finalized here over the next month or so and then I expect every school district to go to work and adopt them in accordance with state law,” said Youngkin.
You can enter comments on the forum until it closes on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 11:59 p.m.