New VA trans policies for schools

[Anonymous]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/07/18/virginia-transgender-student-model-policies-youngkin/

Will NOVA school districts follow VDOE's new model policies for trans kids?

Is there a basis to challenge this legally? Will districts challenge it? Will the feds step in?

Discuss.

[Anonymous]

I don't know the answers, but I blame this on the open up nutters who voted Youngkin into office.

[Anonymous]

Are the rules really that bad? Don’t socially transition a child without the parent’s knowledge and permission? Sports that are segregated by sex continue to be segregated by sex rather than gender identity?

[Anonymous]

Just nuts. So much for small government republicans huh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are the rules really that bad? Don’t socially transition a child without the parent’s knowledge and permission? Sports that are segregated by sex continue to be segregated by sex rather than gender identity?

If you're a right wing conservative and anti trans then I guess the new rules are perfectly fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are the rules really that bad? Don’t socially transition a child without the parent’s knowledge and permission? Sports that are segregated by sex continue to be segregated by sex rather than gender identity?

Agree. These rules seem fine. Parents parent their children, not schools. Schools only have children for part of the day while parents have their children 100%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the rules really that bad? Don’t socially transition a child without the parent’s knowledge and permission? Sports that are segregated by sex continue to be segregated by sex rather than gender identity?

Agree. These rules seem fine. Parents parent their children, not schools. Schools only have children for part of the day while parents have their children 100%.

And here comes the parents rights contingent. We see you.

[Anonymous]

Have any school districts responded yet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have any school districts responded yet?

From Superintendent Duran's twitter: "We are currently reviewing the model policies. I oppose any policy that infringes upon the rights of our students and threatens the safety and well-being of our LGBTQIA+ students. APS will continue to uphold our core mission and policies to ensure that every child receives equal educational access and opportunities. We fully support our transgender and LGBTQIA+ students and value the many diverse identities within our schools, where every student can authentically express themselves. As it stands now, our current PIPs in support of transgender and gender fluid students and staff remain fully in effect."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the rules really that bad? Don’t socially transition a child without the parent’s knowledge and permission? Sports that are segregated by sex continue to be segregated by sex rather than gender identity?

Agree. These rules seem fine. Parents parent their children, not schools. Schools only have children for part of the day while parents have their children 100%.

And here comes the parents rights contingent. We see you.

Not sure what you’re trying to say here. Are you trying to say parents of minor children shouldn’t be made aware of socio-medical changes in their children that occur at school? Because that’s kind of what it comes down to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have any school districts responded yet?

From Superintendent Duran's twitter: "We are currently reviewing the model policies. I oppose any policy that infringes upon the rights of our students and threatens the safety and well-being of our LGBTQIA+ students. APS will continue to uphold our core mission and policies to ensure that every child receives equal educational access and opportunities. We fully support our transgender and LGBTQIA+ students and value the many diverse identities within our schools, where every student can authentically express themselves. As it stands now, our current PIPs in support of transgender and gender fluid students and staff remain fully in effect."

I heart this.

[Anonymous]

As the parent of a trans child, these could be worse but are still not great. For example, the bathroom provision means that a kid who has been transitioned socially by his parents and uses a male name and identity at school has to use the girl's bathroom (as I read it that would be true even after that kid had a legal name and gender change). My kid now has a beard and no one out in the world thinks that he is a "girl" yet if he were a senior in a VA high school, he would have to walk into the girl's bathroom?

I also don't see the need for a rule on names and nicknames and find the rule somewhat hilarious. As I understand it, a kid whose given name is Kristen could change it to Kris or from Rebecca to Bec but not from Rebecca to Rex? What about nicknames that people want to use that are not close to their names or are their middle names? What about all the Treys and Juniors from my youth in the South?

On parent knowledge, I don't have a huge problem in having parents involved in changing the child's gender identity used at school, but have a real problem with the refusal to change the records without the legal documentation being completed. As a practical matter, that means that these kids will constantly be dealing with the wrong name on lists and other school docs even when their parents fully support the use of the new name. It is not that easy to do the name change process and why would we want people to have to do that early in a transition process.

Also, those who think that parents should be informed of everything, would you want schools to be required to inform parents if a child joined a LBGTQ group or wanted to take a same sex date to the prom?

[Anonymous]

I hope beyond hope that if my kid ever has an issue that they feel they can't come to me with that they have a teacher (or other trusted adult) who cares enough about them to listen and support them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the rules really that bad? Don’t socially transition a child without the parent’s knowledge and permission? Sports that are segregated by sex continue to be segregated by sex rather than gender identity?

Agree. These rules seem fine. Parents parent their children, not schools. Schools only have children for part of the day while parents have their children 100%.

Why is is so hard to see that this is the correct answer. Public schools exist to teach children core subjects. In many places in the US, including the DC area, they are failing.

Time to give parents the financial resources (vouchers) they need to send their children to the school of their choice and not to a school system that encourages changing their genders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As the parent of a trans child, these could be worse but are still not great. For example, the bathroom provision means that a kid who has been transitioned socially by his parents and uses a male name and identity at school has to use the girl's bathroom (as I read it that would be true even after that kid had a legal name and gender change). My kid now has a beard and no one out in the world thinks that he is a "girl" yet if he were a senior in a VA high school, he would have to walk into the girl's bathroom?

I also don't see the need for a rule on names and nicknames and find the rule somewhat hilarious. As I understand it, a kid whose given name is Kristen could change it to Kris or from Rebecca to Bec but not from Rebecca to Rex? What about nicknames that people want to use that are not close to their names or are their middle names? What about all the Treys and Juniors from my youth in the South?

On parent knowledge, I don't have a huge problem in having parents involved in changing the child's gender identity used at school, but have a real problem with the refusal to change the records without the legal documentation being completed. As a practical matter, that means that these kids will constantly be dealing with the wrong name on lists and other school docs even when their parents fully support the use of the new name. It is not that easy to do the name change process and why would we want people to have to do that early in a transition process.

Also, those who think that parents should be informed of everything, would you want schools to be required to inform parents if a child joined a LBGTQ group or wanted to take a same sex date to the prom?

I would not want a school to conspire against my back to keep such information from me. I don't think schools keep track of who is going to prom with whom but I would not expect to be lied to if I asked.