Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's administration has rewritten Virginia's model policies for the treatment of transgender students, issuing guidance for school divisions that would roll back some accommodations and tighten parental notification requirements.
The new model policies from the Virginia Department of Education, which were posted online Friday, say students' participation in certain school programming and use of school facilities like bathrooms or locker rooms should be based on their biological sex, with modifications offered only to the extent required under federal law. The policies also say that students who are minors must be referred to by the name and pronouns in their official records, unless a parent approves the use of something else.
Regarding parental notification, the guidelines say school divisions may not encourage teachers to conceal information about a student's gender from his or her parents. And they say parents must be given an opportunity to object before counseling services pertaining to gender are offered.
