While Spotsylvania County Public Schools adopted new policies regarding the treatment of transgender students, Fairfax County Public Schools rejected this provision in order to provide greater protection for students.
The entity in Spotsylvania made this decision following a school board vote early Tuesday.
Virginia District students will begin the school year with changes related to pronouns, names, parent notification, sports, restrooms, and locker rooms. The policies are in line with Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s “Model Policies to Ensure the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect of All Students and Parents in Virginia Public Schools,” which were announced in July.
The controversial decision was greeted by the Spotsilvania school community with a mix of concern and praise.
“I know kids whose parents aren’t supportive and they struggle because of it, and if our school environment starts to be unsupportive, I worry about how it might affect them,” said Katie Quick, a high school senior, noting concerns about the mental health of LGBTQ+ students.
“I don’t think outsiders should tell parents what rights their children have. I think that has to come from home,” said Samantha Price, the mother of a student.
whatWHAT DOES THE NEW POLICY PROVIDE?
Parents determine what pronouns and nouns students use at school: School employees “shall refer to each student using only (i) the name that appears on the student’s official record, or (ii) if the student prefers, using any nickname commonly associated with the name on the record.” Student Official.” The only way students under the age of 18 can change their name on the official school record is if a parent presents a legal document showing the name change or gender change.
School activities are divided by sex at birth, not by gender identity: “For any school program, event, or activity (including extracurricular activities) that is segregated by sex, appropriate student participation shall be determined by sex and not by gender or gender identity.”
Parents can refuse to allow their children to share bathrooms and changing rooms with transgender children: If state or federal law requires schools to allow transgender students to use separate-sex facilities, such as restrooms or locker rooms, “parents must have the right to choose their child to use such facilities, and the child must have access to facilities alternatives that promote the privacy and security of the child”.
Parents should be informed of any gender-related advice: parents “must be informed and given the opportunity to object before gender-related counseling services are provided.”
The full 18-page policy document can be found here.
PARENTS AND STUDENTS HAVE AN OPINION ABOUT THE NEW POLICY
The Spotsylvania school board heard emotional testimony Monday from parents and students.
One mother testified that she hopes to see more involvement from fathers.
“It will definitely bring opportunities for more parental involvement than we have had before,” he said. “Sometimes parents don’t know what’s going on.”
Teachers must be prepared to handle the effects of the policy, one woman testified.
“The reality is that kids who are afraid to talk to their parents will find a trusted adult and talk to teachers, and teachers need to be trained to handle that,” she said.
Upon hearing the news of the decision, father Clint Havlin said: “I think we just have to let the kids be who they are.”
FAIRFAX PUBLIC SCHOOLS REJECT POLICY
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students rallied Wednesday in celebration after the entity announced its rejection of Glenn Youngking’s policy that nullifies protections for transgender students.
The school system, the largest in the state, made the announcement via email Tuesday.
Students, parents, advocates and allies marched down Gallows Road in front of the school system headquarters after learning that FCPS had decided to stick with its current policy towards transgender and non-binary students, rather than adopting the “model policies to ensure the privacy, dignity of all students and parents in Virginia public schools”.
“This is a great sentiment for us today, and I say we mean myself and my student, my 15-year-old son who is a transgender FCPS student, and again, he expressed a feeling of not being able to exist as himself when these came out. policies,” concluded mother Christina McCormick.
