Virginia House Passes Bill Directing Schools to Inform Parents of Child’s Gender Transition

The Virginia State Capitol building in an undated stock photo. Travel Bug/Shutterstock

The Republican-controlled Virginia House of Delegates on Feb. 7 passed a bill that would ensure parents are informed by schools if their child self-identifies as a gender that is different from their biological sex.

Virginia House Bill 2432, also known as Sage’s Law, was introduced by Del. Dave LaRock, a Republican, who says it aims to ensure parents of children dealing with gender confusion are not excluded when a child transitions at school.

Lawmakers voted 50–48 to send the bill to the Senate, where Democrats hold a 22–18 majority, on Tuesday.

All of the House Democrats voted against the law.

Specifically, the bill states that any person employed by a local school, including teachers and other administrative personnel, who has reason to believe—through having directly communicated with them—that a student is self-identifying as a gender different from their biological sex, must contact at least one of the student’s parents as soon as possible to ensure they are aware of their child’s “mental state.”

The employee must also ask the parent whether they would like their child to undergo counseling if they aren’t already.

The law also requires the board of education to include in its guidelines that school employees must contact parents of children who have begun to self-identify as a gender different from their biological sex and inform them.

It also bans any licensed school counselor, professional counselor, clinical social worker, psychologist, or any other counseling personnel in any school from encouraging or coercing a child into not telling their parents about their gender confusion.

Bill Protects Parents

Finally, the bill clarifies that parents who raise their child in a manner consistent with their child’s biological sex, including related mental health or medical decisions, will not be charged with abuse or neglect.

LaRock took to Twitter shortly after the vote to thank his Republican colleagues for their support in passing the bill.

“I am grateful for my GOP colleagues’ support for this bill to ensure parents aren’t excluded when a child transitions at school, or charged with abuse/neglect for affirming their child’s biological sex,” LaRock wrote.

“I am disappointed that all Democrats voted against this common-sense bill. I urge all Virginians to contact their Senator urging broad bipartisan support for this important legislation,” he wrote.

The Virginia House on Tuesday also passed House Bill 1387, which would ban student-athletes from playing on sports teams that do not match their biological sex.

Opponents of the bills, including state Del. Danica Roem, a Democrat, have expressed concerns.

“We are dealing with forcibly outing kids regardless of the safety of their home,” Roem said of the first bill on Tuesday. “You have no idea of the harm you’re causing. Do better for them.”

Elsewhere, The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that provides crisis support services to LGBTQ young people, expressed concerns over the impact the bills could have on youth who do not identify as their biological sex.

In a statement on Tuesday, the nonprofit said it believes the bill will further contribute to increased “isolation and stigma at a time when trans young people are already struggling.”

“Trans and nonbinary young people are our friends, family members, and neighbors, and like all young people, they deserve safe and inclusive learning environments where they can thrive and be supported as they are,” said Kasey Suffredini, vice president of advocacy and government affairs at The Trevor Project, in a statement.

Opponents Express Concerns over Bills

Suffredini said House Bill 2432 would “require teachers to ‘out’ transgender and nonbinary students to their potentially unsupportive parents without their consent.”

“We urge the Virginia State Senate to reject both of these unnecessary measures and instead work to expand opportunity and support services for trans students across the Commonwealth,” Suffredini said.

The Trevor Project also pointed to its 2022 U.S. National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health by State, which found that 43 percent of LGBTQ youth in Virginia seriously considered suicide in the past year, and 13 percent attempted suicide.

The report does not explicitly state why the youth thought about or attempted suicide but notes that LGBTQ young people are “placed at higher risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society.”

Sage’s Law is named after a female student of an Appomattox County High School who identified as male, ran away from her home, and was reportedly sex trafficked. Her guardians say the school failed to notify them that she identified as a male.

After being found by law enforcement, a Maryland court reportedly refused to turn Sage over to her guardians and claimed they were “misgendering” her, and she was ultimately separated from them and housed in the male quarters of a children’s home, where she was allegedly repeatedly assaulted.

“I don’t know who I was. I’m a totally different person now. I never was a boy. Everybody was doing it, I just wanted to have friends,” Sage told her mother following the ordeal, The Federalist reported.