HALL MONITOR: “YES” on parental notification in Virginia’s public schools (HB 2432)

PDE Action supports Virginia HB 2432.

Name: Virginia House Bill 2432, a bill related to minor gender dysphoria and parental notification

Summary: Schools must notify parents if and when a child requests to live as a gender identity other than that aligned with the child’s biological sex at school. Parents must give permission to a school before it implements any effort to address a child’s gender transition at school. 

Patrons: Delegates Dave LaRock, Tara Durant, John McGuire, Marie March, Chris Runion, Wendell Walker, Bill Wiley, Wren Williams

Bill Breakdown: Public schools may not implement a plan to change a child’s gender without permission from at least one parent. Schools must further notify parents if a child expresses that he or she is experience “gender incongruence,” more commonly referred to as gender dysphoria. 

Introduced during the 2023 legislative session, House Bill 2432 bill passed the House of Delegates but died in the Senate Committee on Education and Health.  

Why did PDE Action support this bill? 

Parents, not the government, have the right to direct the care and upbringing of their children. PDE Action supported Virginia House Bill 2432 because it would ensure that the rights of parents to direct the care, education, and upbringing of their children are upheld, aligned with Virginia state code 1-240.1: “Rights of parents. A parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent’s child.” 

State entities, including schools, should not make decisions about a child’s health and wellbeing without the knowledge or consent of able parents.