Wednesday, October 26th, is the deadline to submit your public comment urging the Youngkin administration to withdraw their dangerous and discriminatory "model policies for the treatment of transgender students." I urge you to add your voice in support of Virginia's transgender students before the deadline here. I hope you will also take the time to read my recently submitted public comment, in full, below:
"Governor Youngkin’s model education policies are a cynical political stunt that target
LGBTQ youth and undermine parents in the Commonwealth. They are antithetical to
science and compassion and violate state and federal law. And make no mistake:
these hastily prepared guidelines will hurt children.
In 2020, the General Assembly revised the Virginia Code to afford greater protections to
transgender students in the Commonwealth. Sections 22.1-23.3 of the Virginia Code
require the Department of Education to develop model policies that accord with
“evidence-based best practices” and, among other things, comply with applicable
nondiscrimination laws, protect student privacy, and maintain a safe and supportive
learning environment. Governor Youngkin’s model policies violate these legal
obligations and fail to uphold the principles of dignity, equality, and privacy that are the
foundation of the law.
And it is no wonder that Governor Youngkin’s policies are so odious—they were hastily
prepared with little input from parents, educators, students, and the public. This is in
contrast to the prior version of the model policies, which were the product of a year-long
process that relied upon input from an advisory committee of school-based personnel
representing diverse Superintendent’s Regions and disciplines, representatives from
state professional associations, local businesses, advocacy organizations, parents,
students, and specialists from the Virginia Department of Education. Rather than
listening to the voices of the experts, educators, parents, and community, Governor
Youngkin took shortcuts to push out uniformed policies that turn the Commonwealth’s
students into political pawns.
Governor Youngkin’s policies also violates the Virginia Human Rights Act. To ensure
the rights and dignity of all citizens of the Commonwealth are respected, during the
2020 legislative session Delegate Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax) and I drafted and passed the
Virginia Values Act (SB868). This law was enacted with the support of businesses, faith
leaders, parents, law enforcement, and citizens across Virginia who recognize and
respect their LGBTQ neighbors. The law amended the Virginia Human Rights Act (VA
Code § 2.2-3900) to make clear that it is the official policy of the Commonwealth to
“safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination
because of . . . sexual orientation [and] gender identity . . . in places of public
accommodation, including educational institutions.” Under the Virginia Human Rights
Act, conduct that violates any Virginia or federal law governing discrimination on the
basis of gender identity is an unlawful discriminatory practice.
At the federal level, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 establishes that no
person can be discriminated against based on their sex in an educational setting that
receives federal funding. And the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution guarantees all persons equal protection under the law. Federal courts
have confirmed that Title IX and the United States Constitution protect the rights of
transgender individuals. In Grimm v. Gloucester County, the Fourth Circuit Court of
Appeals relied upon the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton
County to uphold the rights of a transgender student to access educational facilities in
accordance with their gender. Governor Youngkin’s policies fly in the face of this
established federal law.
The results of Governor Youngkin’s policies are stark. Students will be outed without
their consent. Rates of bullying and harassment of marginalized youth will increase.
Students and parents will be required to jump through unnecessary legal hoops just so
that a student can be referred to by their proper name. Transgender youth who already
experience drastically higher rates of suicide, depression, and homelessness will be
placed at further risk. These models policies will cause real, devastating harm.
Our government should work to make our schools a place where all of Virginia’s
students can learn and grow in a welcoming environment; that is not just what the law
requires, it is what basic human dignity demands. The Virginia Department of
Education must rescind these shameful proposed policies immediately for the good of
students, parents, and the entire Commonwealth."
- Adam P. Ebbin
Member, Senate of Virginia
"Governor Youngkin’s model education policies are a cynical political stunt that target
LGBTQ youth and undermine parents in the Commonwealth. They are antithetical to
science and compassion and violate state and federal law. And make no mistake:
these hastily prepared guidelines will hurt children.
In 2020, the General Assembly revised the Virginia Code to afford greater protections to
transgender students in the Commonwealth. Sections 22.1-23.3 of the Virginia Code
require the Department of Education to develop model policies that accord with
“evidence-based best practices” and, among other things, comply with applicable
nondiscrimination laws, protect student privacy, and maintain a safe and supportive
learning environment. Governor Youngkin’s model policies violate these legal
obligations and fail to uphold the principles of dignity, equality, and privacy that are the
foundation of the law.
And it is no wonder that Governor Youngkin’s policies are so odious—they were hastily
prepared with little input from parents, educators, students, and the public. This is in
contrast to the prior version of the model policies, which were the product of a year-long
process that relied upon input from an advisory committee of school-based personnel
representing diverse Superintendent’s Regions and disciplines, representatives from
state professional associations, local businesses, advocacy organizations, parents,
students, and specialists from the Virginia Department of Education. Rather than
listening to the voices of the experts, educators, parents, and community, Governor
Youngkin took shortcuts to push out uniformed policies that turn the Commonwealth’s
students into political pawns.
Governor Youngkin’s policies also violates the Virginia Human Rights Act. To ensure
the rights and dignity of all citizens of the Commonwealth are respected, during the
2020 legislative session Delegate Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax) and I drafted and passed the
Virginia Values Act (SB868). This law was enacted with the support of businesses, faith
leaders, parents, law enforcement, and citizens across Virginia who recognize and
respect their LGBTQ neighbors. The law amended the Virginia Human Rights Act (VA
Code § 2.2-3900) to make clear that it is the official policy of the Commonwealth to
“safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination
because of . . . sexual orientation [and] gender identity . . . in places of public
accommodation, including educational institutions.” Under the Virginia Human Rights
Act, conduct that violates any Virginia or federal law governing discrimination on the
basis of gender identity is an unlawful discriminatory practice.
At the federal level, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 establishes that no
person can be discriminated against based on their sex in an educational setting that
receives federal funding. And the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution guarantees all persons equal protection under the law. Federal courts
have confirmed that Title IX and the United States Constitution protect the rights of
transgender individuals. In Grimm v. Gloucester County, the Fourth Circuit Court of
Appeals relied upon the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton
County to uphold the rights of a transgender student to access educational facilities in
accordance with their gender. Governor Youngkin’s policies fly in the face of this
established federal law.
The results of Governor Youngkin’s policies are stark. Students will be outed without
their consent. Rates of bullying and harassment of marginalized youth will increase.
Students and parents will be required to jump through unnecessary legal hoops just so
that a student can be referred to by their proper name. Transgender youth who already
experience drastically higher rates of suicide, depression, and homelessness will be
placed at further risk. These models policies will cause real, devastating harm.
Our government should work to make our schools a place where all of Virginia’s
students can learn and grow in a welcoming environment; that is not just what the law
requires, it is what basic human dignity demands. The Virginia Department of
Education must rescind these shameful proposed policies immediately for the good of
students, parents, and the entire Commonwealth."
- Adam P. Ebbin
Member, Senate of Virginia