VIRGINIA BEACH, Va - The Virginia Beach City Public School Board on Tuesday night met for the first time since the state’s Department of Education released its model policies a week ago. The policies impact LGBTQ students in public schools.
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A month ago, the school board passed a resolution to protect LGBTQ students against harassment and discrimination.
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More than 40 public speakers spoke on the topic before the school board at Tuesday's meeting, including a student who identifies as LGBTQ.
"The 2023 model policies single out and discriminate against transgender and other queer students," the student said.
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Gov. Glenn Youngkin's push to give parents more rights has met with criticism from people who say the policies push back on the rights of transgender students.
"I had a teacher that was safe to talk to about it even though I was afraid to tell my family. I know that Youngkin’s policies will kill students because if it was put into effect a month, I would have been one of them," the student said.
At Tuesday night's meeting, parents urged the board to adopt the 2023 model policies.
"It’s time to clean up harmful policies that disrespect parent’s rights to be involved in life-changing decisions in their children’s lives," a Virginia Beach parent said.
"If you desire the safety and well-being of all our children and their families, update your policies to fall in line with the 2023 model policies," another Virginia Beach parent said.
The 2023 model policies state students should be referred to using the pronouns matching the sex on their official records, and they should use the corresponding restroom. Staff can only refer to students by another name or pronoun if a student or their parent submits a request to the school in writing.
According to the policies, students are only allowed to participate in after-school activities based on their sex rather than gender.
The policy also says schools should make accommodations for students with distinctive needs, including transgender students. It says “Single-use bathrooms and facilities should be made available in accessible areas and provided with appropriate signage indicating accessibility for all students."
"The policy will force teachers to misgender and dead-name students in the classroom," a Virginia Beach student said.
