Youngkin Puts Virginia Schools on Notice for Refusing to Follow New Transgender Rules

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, here speaking in Smithfield, Va., in October 2022, is not on the commonwealth's 2023 ballot but his lobbying for a 15-week abortion ban puts him and abortion on voters' minds as they go to the polls in November in what is beiung called "the first election of 2024." Alex Wong/Getty Images

Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has put defiant school districts on notice, ordering them comply with a new transgender policy framework that includes requiring students to use bathrooms matching their birth sex, after several districts balked at the new model policies.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) recently issued new model policies (pdf) regarding transgender students, which roll back some accommodations and give parents more of a say.

The new model policies include prohibiting teachers from referring to students by pronouns different than their biological sex (unless authorized by parents) and requiring that students use bathrooms that match their biological sex rather than gender identity (with modifications like alternative facilities available but offered only to the extent required by federal law).

However, several school districts have said they would ignore the new rules and keep their existing policies, which are based on previous model policies from VDOE that required teachers to use preferred gender pronouns and that let students access facilities consistent with their gender identity.

Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) issued a statement, as did the Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), the largest school district in Virginia, who said that transgender and “gender expansive” students at FCPS schools “will continue to be addressed by their chosen names and pronouns” and would be given access to facilities “consistent with their gender identity.”

But Mr. Youngkin is pushing back. In an interview on Fox News, he said that Virginia law is “very clear” that it’s within the purview of the governor to issue model policies, and school districts “have to adopt policies consistent with the model policies.”

Calling it a matter of “common sense,” Mr. Youngkin said the new rules put parents—as opposed to bureaucrats—more in control of schoolchildren’s lives.

“We are very straightforwardly saying that first, parents are in charge of their children’s lives. The kids don’t belong to the state. They belong to parents and to families, and they have the ultimate say in decisions that that child is going to make with a parent, not with a bureaucrat,” Mr. Youngkin said.

The Republican governor added that many parents are frustrated with the old policies for failing to ensure the safety and privacy of their kids.

“This is a parent moment, not a political moment. And they will, in fact, comply with the law and stop thinking that they know more than parents,” Mr. Youngkin said of the school districts.

The Epoch Times has reached out to PWCS and FCPS with a request for comment.

Parents watch children step onto a Fairfax County school bus in Falls Church, Va., on Oct. 15, 2002. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Policy Details

Virginia’s new guidelines on transgender students say that student’s participation in certain school programming and use of school facilities like bathrooms or locker rooms should be based on the sex assigned at birth rather than gender identity.

Modifications to facility use are offered only to the extent required by federal law. The model policy also features an “opt-out” option for parents to request that their children be given access to a sex-separated facility in cases where “state or federal law requires schools to permit transgender students to share otherwise sex-segregated facilities (such as bathrooms or locker rooms) with students of the opposite sex.”

The policies also say that students who are minors must be referred to by the names 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 identity from his or her parents. The finalized version adds language that reminds school divisions they must comply with a state law governing communication about a perceived imminent risk of suicide by a student.

The new guidelines also say parents must be given an opportunity to object before counseling services pertaining to gender are offered.

The previous model policy said students could use names and gender pronouns that reflect their gender identity without “any substantiating evidence.”

Students could also participate in programming and access facilities in a manner consistent with their gender identity and urged schools to weigh sharing information about students’ gender identity with parents on a “case-by-case” basis, considering the health and safety of students.

Fairfax County resident Lin-Dai Kendall protests at a rally outside Luther Jackson Middle School before a Fairfax County Public Schools board meeting, in Falls Church, Va., on Sept. 15, 2022. Terri Wu/The Epoch Times

School Districts Refuse

Following the adoption of the new guidelines, FCPS superintendent Michelle Reid said in a notice that the district had concluded a “detailed legal review” and determined that current policies the district has in place are “consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws as required by the new model policies.”

Under FCPS’s existing policies, Ms. Reid said, “gender expansive and transgender students” will continue to be addressed by their chosen names and pronouns, will continue to be provided with access to facilities, activities, and/or trips consistent with their gender identity, and will “continue to have their privacy respected regarding gender-expansive or transgender status, legal name, or sex assigned at birth.”

According to the current FCPS policy, “Students who identify as gender-expansive or transgender should be called by their chosen name and pronouns, regardless of the name and gender recorded in the student’s permanent pupil record.”

Ms. Reid said in her note that all students have the right to privacy in FCPS facilities and that “any student who has a need or desire for increased privacy, regardless of the underlying reason, shall be provided with reasonable, non-stigmatizing accommodations.”

The decision by Fairfax County Public Schools sparked criticism from Parents Defending Education.

“Per usual, leadership at FCPS is more concerned with appeasing liberal activists than they are in ensuring ALL students feel safe in schools and on-campus facilities,” Parents Defending Education senior advisor Michele Exner said in a press release. “The FCPS position potentially forces girls to share their locker rooms, sports fields, and even lodging on field trips with biological males. This is insanity and parents should not stand for it.”

In a similar vein, PWCS said in its notice that its policies are consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws, and they prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

“Schools shall, at the request of a student or the student’s parent or guardian, allow the students to use a name and gender pronoun that reflects their gender identity,” the PWCS policy states, noting that students aren’t required to present any substantiating evidence such as court-ordered name changes.

Under PWCS policies, not referring to a student by their preferred pronouns is grounds for disciplinary action against a teacher or sanctions for bullying and harassment if done by fellow students.

All students shall have access to bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity, per PWCS policies, although “single-user, gender-inclusive facilities or other reasonable alternatives shall be made available to any students who seek additional privacy” upon request.