VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Tuesday night, the Virginia Beach School Board members took up a hot-button issue: the Virginia Department of Education’s new model policies.
The policies impact LGBTQ students across the Commonwealth.
Tuesday night's meeting happened less than a week before students return to the classroom for the 2023-2024 school year.
Virginia Beach School Board member Victoria Manning brought forward a resolution to approve the policies.
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The policies released in July state that 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 written request to the school, according to the policies.
Also, students are only allowed to take part in after-school activities based on their sex rather than their gender.
In July, the Virginia Beach School Board passed a resolution to protect LGBTQ students against harassment and discrimination.
Dozens of residents, including students and parents, spoke at Tuesday night’s meeting.
Many Virginia Beach students, including one who identifies as transgender, criticized the model policies and spoke out against them.
“These decisions affect real lives. Let’s work for creating an environment where we feel valued and supported,” a Virginia Beach student said.
“It’s not just what name you call me, or what pronouns you use. We’re talking about people’s lives,” one Virginia Beach student who identified as transgender said.
“It’ll take away schools as a safe space for our kids that need them the most, and force those children to hide and isolate themselves into nothingness,” a Virginia Beach parent said.
Meanwhile, others spoke in favor of the policies.
“Parental involvement is one of the most important predictors of a child’s emotional well-being, academic achievement, and overall development,” one Virginia Beach resident said.
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Lots of speakers in favor of the 2023 Model Policies emphasized support for parents.
“Why would anyone oppose these policies? Do we truly care about transgender students, or are we really more focused on denying the basic human right of parents to determine what’s best for their child’s mental health,” one Virginia Beach resident said.
As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, the motion failed. The vote was five to five with one abstention.
Stay with News 3 for updates from Tuesday night’s meeting.
