Bacon's Rebellion

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Youngkin Unveils New Trans Policy for Schools

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by

James A. Bacon
in ,

by James A. Bacon

The Youngkin administration has issued a new set of model policies designed to uphold the “privacy, dignity and respect” of all students and parents in Virginia public schools, replacing a policy put into effect by the Northam administration in 2021.

The new policies strike me as eminently reasonable. The guidelines make it clear that “all students have the right to attend school in an environment free from discrimination, harassment, or bullying.” As a practical matter, it looks like single-user bathrooms are the future for Virginia schools. But the guidelines also fulfill Youngkin’s promise to represent the interests of parents over educational activists and bureaucrats.

The Northam policies, states the “2022 Model Policies,” “promoted a specific viewpoint aimed at achieving cultural and social transformation in schools.” They disregarded the rights of parents and ignored legal and constitutional principles that impacted how schools educated students, including transgender students.

“The Department … fully acknowledges the rights of parents to exercise their fundamental rights granted by the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to direct the care, upbringing, and education of their children,” states the model policy. “The Code of Virginia reaffirms the rights of parents to determine how their children will be raised and educated. Empowering parents is not only a fundamental right, but it is essential to improving outcomes for all children in Virginia.”

The 2022 Model Policies contains a set of guiding principles, which I will proceed to quote verbatim (with excisions noted).

Parents have the right to make decisions with respect to their children: Policies shall be drafted to safeguard parents rights with respect to their child, and to facilitate the exercise of those rights. Policies shall reflect the following commitments:

  1.   Schools shall respect parents’ values and beliefs: Parents have the right to instill in and nurture values and beliefs for their own children and make decisions concerning their children’s education and upbringing in accordance with their customs, faith and family culture. …
  2. Schools shall defer to parents to make the best decisions with respect to their children: Parents are in the best position to work with their children and, where appropriate, their children’s health care providers to determine (a) what names, nicknames, and/or pronouns, if any, shall be used for their child by teachers and school staff while their child is in school, (b) whether their child engages in any counseling or social transition at school that encourages a gender that differs from their child’s sex, or (c) whether their child expresses a gender that differs with their child’s sex while at school.
  3. Schools shall keep parents informed about their children’s well-being. To ensure parents are able to make the best decisions with respect to their child, school personnel shall keep parents fully informed about all matters that may be reasonably expected to be important to a parent, including, and without limitation, matters related to their child’s health, and social and psychological development. …

Schools shall serve the needs of all students.

The Department is committed to working with school divisions to ensure a positive, safe, and nurturing learning environment for all students. … Schools should attempt to accommodate students with distinctive needs, including any student with a persistent and sincere belief that his or her gender differs from his or her sex. A team of appropriate school staff and other caregivers should collaborate with the parents to identify and implement reasonable accommodations and modifications, taking into account the resources and staff available in school and school divisions, as well as the rights and needs of other students and of school staff. Single-user bathrooms and facilities should be made available in accessible areas and provided with appropriate signage. …

Schools shall respect all students. All children in Virginia have a right to learn, free from unlawful discrimination and harassment. School division policies shall therefore  implement the requirements of the Act in a manner that ensures no student is discriminated against or harassed on the basis of his or her sex.

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51 responses to “Youngkin Unveils New Trans Policy for Schools”

  1. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Funny how there is such teeth-gnashing about a cabin found on almost every passenger plane.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      They coulda put that as a policy…. but pretty it up so it sounded like a “principle”….

  2. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    I’m trying to read for the actual policies and what is different from Northam.

    Got a lot of words here… where’s the “beef”?

    oh – there is no actual policy yet:

    ” The Department of Education shall develop and make available to each school board model policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public elementary and secondary schools that address common issues regarding transgender students in accordance with evidence-based best practices and include information, guidance, procedures, and standards relating to:”

    So all this blather about “principles” and no policy yet?

    1. Rosie Avatar
      Rosie

      1. Gendered restrooms converted to single-use rooms, which seems like a giant logistics nightmare but could solve a host of unrelated issues that happen when students feel they aren’t being watched by adults.
      2. School staff will have to tell parents if the student comes out or, I dunno, acts trans so they can force the child to behave the way they want be aware of what is going on.
      3. Continue to pretend that school staff are forcing children to be gay and/or trans.
      4. Establish (or re-establish?) that nobody will discriminated and transgender kids will have their gender transition respected.

      More details are needed, as you said, especially considering how costly it will be to convert bathrooms in every school. Seems more cost-effective to just let the trans kids in their preferred bathroom, but I’m not strictly against it.

      1. Virginia Project Avatar
        Virginia Project

        if boys can use a particular restroom, its condition will quickly become insufficiently clean for girls to be comfortable

        baffling how anyone can’t see that one coming… this doesn’t help girls at all, and the fact that they are scared witless to use their own bathrooms right now

    2. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      I had the same reaction.

  3. killerhertz Avatar
    killerhertz

    new policy: woodchipper

    1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
      Eric the half a troll

      Didn’t go far enough, eh…??

  4. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “Parents are in the best position to work with their children and, where appropriate, their children’s health care providers to determine (a) what names, nicknames, and/or pronouns, if any, shall be used for their child by teachers and school staff while their child is in school…”

    Did Tanner Cross approve this…??

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      This is a tough issue and what we’re seeing now is how Conservatives want to handle it. Should be interesting to see their actual model policy as well as all parents, educators, and others reaction to it. Like the abortion issue, if Conservatives do what they really want to do, it may come back to bite them in the butt with the larger constituency of citizens.

    2. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      This is a tough issue and what we’re seeing now is how Conservatives want to handle it. Should be interesting to see their actual model policy as well as all parents, educators, and others reaction to it. Like the abortion issue, if Conservatives do what they really want to do, it may come back to bite them in the butt with the larger constituency of citizens.

    3. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
      James Wyatt Whitehead

      Tanner is a good guy. I know him. Highly regarded teacher in Loudoun County. Easy now.

      1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        Just pointing out how the Youngkin policy undermines the Tanner case who said he should not be forced to acquiesce or respect parent’s requests because “religion”. I will note that Youngkin follows the requirement to respect and follow the requests of parents (and eligible students) with this exception:

        “6. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (4) of this section, [School Division] shall not compel [School Division] personnel or other students to address or refer to students in any manner that would violate their constitutionally protected rights.”

        Clear as day… so it looks like Youngkin’s policy need SCOTUS guidance before it can actually be implemented – note: Tanner’s case has yet to be ruled on in regards to what he can actually be compelled to do by his employer. I guess that means Youngkin’s policy is a work in process.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          In fairness, we – most everyone – never really confronted this issue until now and it challenges a lot of folks pre-conceived and more comfortable notions as well as riles up others who don’t like the change and prefer it the way it was.

          Youngkin was elected on the premise that parents and others were being ignored and treated wrongly by the public education institution.

          That argument would not have been successful just with the Conservative base along and his position won over enough independents to swing the election. McAuliffe “helped”.

          But now that he has chased and caught that proverbial car, he is on the bubble to come up with an policy that will satisfy MORE than just his base.

          He can only double-talk the issue for so long before he actually has to put down policy words where people KNOW without question what the policy itself actual is – sans all the flowery words about parents “rights”.

  5. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “Students shall use bathrooms that correspond to his or her sex, except to the extent that federal law otherwise requires. See Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, 972 F.3d 586 (2020)”

    From what I read, this case found for the trans student meaning that trans students can use facilities associated with their sexual identity not “sex”.

  6. f/k/a_tmtfairfax Avatar
    f/k/a_tmtfairfax

    Parents have a right to raise their children as they believe to be appropriate. Schools need to notify parents of any significant development that affects their child including a child raising gender issues.

    If school officials have credible evidence that making such notification would endanger the child’s health, safety and welfare, the school officials should take the matter to court, which, in turn, should appoint a guardian ad litem for the child. With sufficient evidence, a court can and should issue a short-term order prohibiting notification of the parents. At some point, it might require removal of the child from her/his home. Needless to say, the parents would need to have notice and an opportunity for a hearing, with the right to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses.

    Just as courts cannot convict a person based on a confession alone — there must be corroborating evidence, so too schools should not rely on the statements of the student alone but must obtain independent corroboration of the allegations.

    It’s quite possible to make this work, while protecting everyone’s rights.

    1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
      Eric the half a troll

      That all may be true (I’ve no big beef with what you say). My comment is on how Youngkin appears to say that trans kids must use bathrooms based upon their birth sex then turns around and provides for an exception for all trans kids to that policy by citing Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, 972 F.3d 586 (2020). Doesn’t that seem rather strange to you? It is almost like he is playing a game of smoke and mirrors on his base. It certainly smacks of playing politics with the issue.

      1. f/k/a_tmtfairfax Avatar
        f/k/a_tmtfairfax

        As a practical matter, I don’t care if a transgender man wants to use a men’s restroom. These places generally smell bad, have urine on the floors and dirty sinks. My wife and daughter inform me that women’s restrooms aren’t like that. I think a significant number of women would not feel comfortable with a transgender woman in a women’s restroom.

        My problem with the law is that it seems to be ignoring the rights of everyone else besides the transgender person. Traditionally, when there are conflicting claims of rights, courts balance them. But now, say transgender and everyone else’s interests are thrown in the trash.

        Maybe the place to draw the line is with restrooms. But do women have to endure biological men in a locker room? In the showers? Ditto for men and biological women.

        Pre-COVID, I was in the men’s locker room at the Spring Hill Rec Center in McLean. A woman mistakenly entered the room. I was in a half state of undress and felt uncomfortable with her presence. I politely advised the woman that she made a mistake and was in the wrong locker room. She left embarrassed as all of us would be. What rights do I have not to have to be naked in front of biological women or not see biological women naked in front of me?

        And if trans rights top every other person’s rights, maybe it is time for another rebellion.

        1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
          Eric the half a troll

          “My problem with the law is that it seems to be ignoring the rights of everyone else besides the transgender person.”

          Would you say that if you were a trans person? Seems that the courts are actually very sympathetic to your argument these days. Just claim that your position somehow is based on your religion and you can ignore any and all discrimination laws and policies. Don’t want to make a cake for the dirty sinful same sex couple… same thing… deny your employees contraception coverage… ditto…

          “What rights do I have not to have to be naked in front of biological women or not see biological women naked in front of me?”

          Well, I recall that we once thought the Constitution provided for a certain right to privacy… we have recently been informed that this is actually not the case… alas…

        2. Rosie Avatar
          Rosie

          First, I can assure you that women’s restrooms can be filthy in their own right. Y

          Second, you still have the right to use the restroom or change your clothes without interference or harassment, so your rights are still in tact! Your preference to not occupy space with trans people is not a right. Just like you, they’re there to change and get on with their lives.

          1. f/k/a_tmtfairfax Avatar
            f/k/a_tmtfairfax

            Seig Heil! The Left continues its efforts to Nazify the United States by eliminating existing rights. Ten years ago, what would have happened if a naked male (based on biology) would have entered a women’s locker room? Or vice versa? The person would have been removed and possibly charged with indecent exposure.

            So when did the law change? What is the source for your statement of my rights? Rosie, in your own way, you are as dangerous to our system of government as Donald Trump.

          2. Rosie Avatar
            Rosie

            Adolph Hitler, well known for advocating the rights of a minority group above others.

          3. f/k/a_tmtfairfax Avatar
            f/k/a_tmtfairfax

            So what changed the law that would have prevented a naked man from entering a women’s restroom or locker room? You simply proclaim rights that don’t exist in the law.

            Pass a law that says a biological male can use women’s restrooms or locker rooms (and vice versa) simply by proclaiming he (she) is transgender. Do it openly. Let legislators explain it to their constituents. I’m sure this would have broad support among women, especially after the repeat sexual assault in Loudoun County Public Schools.

          4. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            TMT – do you think it is wrong to lie about the issue?

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/004055c083b786cc21487e58c1be9deefc7e742c9d260c5fb061ffaf2f8ed381.jpg

          5. TacoTuesdays Avatar
            TacoTuesdays

            Non-transgender boys wear skirts too.

          6. Rosie Avatar
            Rosie

            The sexual assault predates the bathroom policy, and was specifically done in that bathroom by two students because it was a location known for being unsupervised by staff. The other assault was in a classroom, so not relevant to this discussion.

            I know you all are very attached to this Loudoun County lie, but your continued attachment to it really undermines your point.

          7. Virginia Project Avatar
            Virginia Project

            They did pass that law.

            I immediately predicted girls would be raped by trans in school bathrooms, schools would cover it up, and the victim and family thereof would be terrorized into silence.

            15 months later it played out exactly like that in every detail

            the Dems’ policy is a policy for rapists and other child sex predators and this was obvious out the gate – anyone advocating for it is extraordinarily likely to be an actual pedophile and should be treated as such

          8. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            TMT, is this “Nazi” ?

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/29028df24c2472f0786b00107ce7303be1b816d255feff7572d7971edff722ad.jpg

          9. f/k/a_tmtfairfax Avatar
            f/k/a_tmtfairfax

            Ditto, Larry. Please point me to the legislation that would permit a biological male can use women’s restrooms or locker rooms (and vice versa) simply by proclaiming he (she) is transgender.

          10. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            TMT – did the courts rule on this?

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/61ff69d6655ddca66be3dd324cd24d4d5bdc0ce8aa9bc9537a93bce69a0a0475.jpg

            https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/28/supreme-court-transgender-rights-496710

          11. f/k/a_tmtfairfax Avatar
            f/k/a_tmtfairfax

            Let’s get real. Some legislatures have changed laws with respect to the use of school bathrooms by transgendered students. Some may have addressed locker rooms.

            But the Virginia statute on indecent exposure remains on the books. § 18.2-387. “Indecent exposure.
            Every person who intentionally makes an obscene display or exposure of his person, or the private parts thereof, in any public place, or in any place where others are present, or procures another to so expose himself, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. No person shall be deemed to be in violation of this section for breastfeeding a child in any public place or any place where others are present.”

            If I drove back to Fairfax County, went to a County Rec Center, paid the admission fee, went into the women’s locker room and took off all of my clothes, while refusing to leave, do you think I might be charged with indecent exposure? Ditto for any other man doing the same thing or for any woman who strips in the men’s locker room.

            I don’t see anything in the statute that exempts the flasher/striper if he or she claims to be transgendered? Moreover, a good judge would reject that defense and say it’s up to the General Assembly to change the law.

            Now what is the likely reaction of the public, most especially of adult women who use locker rooms, to legislation that would allow a man to expose himself/strip to his skin simply by stating he is really a transgendered w0man? Ask some women friends or relatives.

            So, let’s assume the law is amended. But unless a transgendered person is required to prove with medical evidence that he/she is transgendered, anyone can make the claim and must be acquitted. Think about how most women (and many men) would feel about the law. Imagine a father with a 12-year-old son going to the Rec Center to swim. In comes a biological woman to the locker room and removes all her clothes. I sure as all hell wouldn’t have liked it with my 12-year-old son. And then switch locker rooms and genders.

            There is no way that the Virginia General Assembly will modify the indecent exposure statute to provide a defense to anyone based on a claim that he/she is really a he/she. The solution is to have a multi-sex, private room for any person with the genitals of one sex and a bona fide belief that he/she is really a person of the opposite gender. It’s possible to respect everyone’s rights.

          12. Rosie Avatar
            Rosie

            This is a ridiculous comparison, and thar’s saying something given how far out you’ve already gotten with this conceit.

            Going up to people and flashing your genitals at them is indecent exposure. Being nude a few moments to change clothes is not. Do you think a man walking up to you or your children and flaunting his nude body at you would be acceptable because he’s a cisgender man in a men’s locker room? The intent is different, and no claims of being trans or anything is going to get you off the hook for harassing people.

            Like, you’re okay with your son seeing nude bodies of adult men in the locker room but think a transgender man’s vagina for a moment is going to what…mentally scar your son?

          13. Rosie Avatar
            Rosie

            This is a ridiculous comparison, and thar’s saying something given how far out you’ve already gotten with this conceit.

            Going up to people and flashing your genitals at them is indecent exposure. Being nude a few moments to change clothes is not. Do you think a man walking up to you or your children and flaunting his nude body at you would be acceptable because he’s a cisgender man in a men’s locker room? The intent is different, and no claims of being trans or anything is going to get you off the hook for harassing people.

            Like, you’re okay with your son seeing nude bodies of adult men in the locker room but think a transgender man’s vagina for a moment is going to what…mentally scar your son?

          14. Virginia Project Avatar
            Virginia Project

            VA Dems passed that law in 2020. We repealed it in 2022.

        3. Eric the half a troll Avatar
          Eric the half a troll

          “My problem with the law is that it seems to be ignoring the rights of everyone else besides the transgender person.”

          Would you say that if you were a trans person? Seems that the courts are actually very sympathetic to your argument these days. Just claim that your position somehow is based on your religion and you can ignore any and all discrimination laws and policies. Don’t want to make a cake for the dirty sinful same sex couple… same thing… deny your employees contraception coverage… ditto…

          “What rights do I have not to have to be naked in front of biological women or not see biological women naked in front of me?”

          Well, I recall that we once thought the Constitution provided for a certain right to privacy… we have recently been informed that this is actually not the case… alas…

      2. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        Is he not aware of that? If he is, I’d say be on the lookout for more of it then call him on it.

        1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
          Eric the half a troll

          He is clearly aware of it… why else cite the case….? He is clearly playing a game here…

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I inclined to agree. The bloom is coming off that rose.

    2. vicnicholls Avatar
      vicnicholls

      A child is a child and not allowed to vote, enter contracts, etc. because they are a child and can’t think or reason like adults. They are their parents’ issue to deal with according to their values. Not changing their gender, I have yet to see how many of them won’t temper tantrum their way to saying they have to have something and if they don’t they’ll die.

  7. Rosie Avatar
    Rosie

    This would be an ad hominem attack, no?

    1. oromae Avatar
      oromae

      You are unsurprisingly unable to discern between such and statement of fact.

      1. Rosie Avatar
        Rosie

        Explain to me what you think my aim is, and I’ll explain how your “fact” is propaganda-drunk delusion.

        1. oromae Avatar
          oromae

          Oh my, are your meds making you irritable?

          1. Rosie Avatar
            Rosie

            If they are, your unsurprising inability to refute my point that you just repeat sound bytes without any critical thought does help bring a smile to my face 😊

          2. oromae Avatar
            oromae

            Well then, stop sucking on those suppositories.
            Your point refuted in accordance with it’s weight 😎

  8. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    When I compare the BR article above with this article , they seem to not say the same thing at all.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/19bd89126be07df5ceb464741acc67365b404ea3ab2f66912390de6de0e98634.jpg

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9bf052ba54955335435628069faad12583508b264228eb67fb67582e6a44914b.jpg

    2. Eric the half a troll Avatar
      Eric the half a troll

      Looks like the press jumped at the headline bait and did not actually bother to read the policy.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        or the Press is reading something different from what is here.

  9. kls Avatar
    kls

    This just in… Virginia Schools to ban biology class as X and Y chromosomes are now meaningless….

  10. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    I don’t know how many BR readers and commenters have actually lived in another country for long. I spent six years in Russia and did a lot of travelling in Europe. It is very common for people to go nude on beaches. In Russia entire families disrobe at the “Banya” (sauna) to take heat and ice cold soaks. In Japan it’s similar. What this means is that Americans can be ridiculously prudish. In Russia, I never heard of rape in the Banya.

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