Virginia Department of Education Delays Implementation of New Transgender Policies While Trying to Review 71,298 Public Comments

A required minimum 30-day period for the Youngkin administration to review public comment on new draft transgender model policies ended, but the Virginia Department of Education is taking more time to review the 71,298 comments, according to Director of Communications and Constituent Services Charles Pyle.

“The model policies and guidance document has not been finalized and will not be – as stated by Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow – until the department has reviewed all of the comments received during the public comment period,” Pyle told The Virginia Star.

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Emails to Youngkin Education Tip Line Include Both Frustration and Praise

After a legal battle, Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration agreed to release about 350 emails from an education tip line the administration instituted early in the governor’s term. According to media reports, many of the emails were duplicates and some of the emails contain positive feedback about teachers, but others include concerns, including criticism of virtual learning, anger over mask mandates, and concern from one student over a feminist approach to Beowulf.

“A review of the 350 released records shows the majority do not address critical race theory or any other curriculum concern,” The Virginian-Pilot reported.

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Public Comment on New Transgender Guidelines Ends, But Enactment Delayed for at Least 30 Days

Public comment has ended on the Youngkin administration’s draft transgender model policies, but they won’t go into effect until November 26 at the soonest, and may take longer, according to Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) Director of Communications Charles Pyle. “The department’s timeline for finalizing the guidance and model policies document will be determined by the law (Section 2.2-4002.1.) and the amount of time required to review comments submitted by the public and make any edits to the document warranted by the comments. The guidance and model policies won’t become final until the review is complete and a final version is approved by the state superintendent,” Pyle told The Virginia Star. The 2022 Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools will replace the 2021 Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools. Law passed in 2020 requires school boards to enact policies consistent with the model policy guidance documents created by the VDOE, and the law includes requirements over what the policies contain. During the 30-day comment period, the model policies received 71,298 public comments on Virginia’s regulatory review site, and although the board of education…

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Virginia Delegate Receives Pushback After Report Saying She Wants to Make it Abuse to Not Affirm a Child’s Gender Identity

Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D-Prince William) is working to introduce legislation that could make it child abuse or neglect for parents to not affirm their child’s sexual identity or gender orientation, according to a Thursday report from WJLA. That proposal triggered widespread criticism on Friday, and Guzman later criticized WJLA’s reporting. “My bill will state in the Code of Virginia that bullying a child from the LGBTQ community, and this includes mental or physical abuse, to be abused for their sexual orientation or gender identity, that would be considered a Child Protective Services charge,” Guzman said in a video of the WJLA interview. Guzman said that’s a reaction to the Youngkin administration’s draft model policies governing school transgender policies, which would require parental involvement in situations including if a child wanted to change their name or pronouns. Guzman said her bill would expand the definitions of child neglect and abuse. Virginia law requires certain people to report child abuse, including medical professionals, law enforcement, public and private school teachers, and religious leaders like ministers, priests, and imams. “If the child shares with those mandated reporters, what they are going through, we are talking about not only physical abuse or mental abuse,…

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Rep. Bob Good Uses Clash with Spanberger to Highlight Her ‘Radical’ Stance

Representative Bob Good (R-VA-05) is highlighting how “radical” Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) by citing the recent incident where Spanberger cursed at him at the Virginia congressional delegation meeting with Governor Glenn Youngkin last week.

Good said on The John Fredericks Show that while the congressmen were presenting feedback to Youngkin, “two members of the delegation decided to take that time to attack the governor for his common-sense, parents first, children first policies.”

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Youngkin Administration’s New School Transgender Model Policies Draw 20,000 Public Comments, Student Walkouts, and White House Response

The Virginia Department of Education’s new draft transgender policies received over 20,000 comments on Monday and Tuesday, the first two days of the 30-day public comment period.

Comments on the Model Policies on the Privacy Dignity and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools include both support and opposition, and often show strong feeling about the policies.

“We support this policy! God bless Governor Youngkin,” commenter Heather West wrote. “As a parent of six school aged children, I am grateful that Gov Youngkin has chosen to go to bat for us. It is brave to stand up against the tyranny of the rainbow crowd. Onward with more policies that promote REAL education and not social indoctrination. God bless us all as we work to restore truth to our educational institutions.”

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Rep. Spanberger Cursed at Rep. Good After He Defended Youngkin Transgender Policy and Criticized ‘Grooming’

The monthly Virginia congressional delegation lunch with Governor Glenn Youngkin became contentious on Monday when conversation turned to the Virginia Department of Education’s new model policies to replace current transgender policies, eventually leading to Representative Bob Good (R-VA-05) defending the policies. Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) cursed at Good, according to reports.

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Some Virginia School Districts Concerned About New Transgender Model Policies Draft

Some school districts are already signaling resistance to new draft model policies from the Virginia Department of Education that will repeal current model policies controlling school district transgender policy.

“We want to assure you that Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) will continue its commitment to both implement and develop gender affirming policies for all ACPS students. As a School Board and division, we are concerned with these ‘model policies’ that do not align with our mission, vision and core values to support all students and staff, in particular our core value of ensuring that we provide a welcoming environment for everyone in our school community,” Alexandria City Public Schools said in a letter to students, staff and families.

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