Virginia Beach School Board delays vote on policies impacting LGBTQ+ students

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — After a more than 5 hour school board meeting, the Virginia Beach school board delayed a vote on the state's model policies impacting LGBTQ+ students.

The board stated they would take action in their October 10th school board meeting. The board cited needing more time to review a proposed draft that is consistent with the model policies.

In a special meeting to discuss the model policies, the acting superintendent, Dr. Donald Robertson, stated the board had plans to take a vote in Tuesday's school board meeting.

"The goal is that we present a full plan of actions we plan to take to implement the model policies," Robertson stated in Monday's special school board session. "I think the board has been kicking this around and thinking about it deeply for two months."

This also comes after two Virginia Beach parents filed a lawsuit against the district for not enforcing the policies.

Many parents at the meeting were in support of the model policies.

"A parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing and care of their child. These are our children and we will not sacrifice them. We will not co-parent with the government," one Virginia Beach parent said.

The Governor's push for parents rights has been met with criticism from opponents.

"My parents are accepting. and I’ve been on testosterone for over 4 month and just got my name legally changedf," one Virginia Beach student said. "That wasn’t always the case for me. In middle school, I never thought I would come out and planned to kill myself if my parents found out I was trans. If Youngkin’s polices had been in place, and I was outed before I was ready and safe, I would have killed myself."

Ahead of the school board meeting, a few high school students rallied holding up flags and posters and chanted, “Trans rights are human rights. Trans lives matter.”