Virginia transgender student policy gives school boards little say
(WSET) — School districts across the state will soon be required to implement policies aimed to protect transgender students' rights. In the Commonwealth, school districts have to follow the laws enacted like regular folks on the street.
A law passed in 2020 outlines requirements about the treatment of transgender students on school grounds. This was House Bill 145 and Senate Bill 161.
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It requires schools to adopt policies that are consistent with but may be more comprehensive than the model policies developed by the Virginia Department of Education.
Some of the requirements include that schools must follow how a student chooses to identify themselves. Schools can't restrict what bathroom or locker room a student identifies with on a regular basis. It's the same for trips or activities. However, it does not apply to sports.
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School districts are now being tasked to create policies to make sure these requirements are followed. Many have taken to social media to discuss the policies in place.
"I'm pretty sure most people are concerned with actually going to the bathroom when going to the bathroom, not whether someone transgender or not is using the same space," wrote Emily Raine on Facebook.
While James Crawley said the policies "cater to the minority".
The Virginia Dept. of Education declined a request for an interview on this policy. They instead issued a statement saying they have been developing this policy since last summer. They said they asked for public comment in January before putting the final guidance into place in March.
You can read the full guidance given to school districts here:
