Show Your Support for Parents’ Rights in Virginia Schools
State and federal agencies repeatedly sidelined parents who expressed concern over race and gender ideology infiltrating schools over the past two years. Virginia was no exception.
Last year, former Governor Ralph Northam’s administration created model policies for transgender students that explicitly said: “There are no regulations requiring school staff to notify a parent or guardian of a student’s request to affirm their gender identity, and school staff should work with students to help them share the information with their family when they are ready to do so.”
But this is set to change.
The Virginia Department of Education under Governor Glenn Youngkin released a new set of model policies, “On the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools,” to replace Northam’s on September 16.
Aligned with Virginia Code 1-240.1, Youngkin’s new model policies…
- Defend the rights and dignity of all students across the Commonwealth.
- Protect parents’ rights to direct the upbringing of their children. This includes requiring a parent’s sign-off before a child uses a different name or pronouns at school.
- Ensure sex-separated spaces—including restrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams—are protected.
These policies will undergo thirty days of public comment beginning on September 26.
PDE Action encourages you to show your support for the new model policies. Please use our portal to tell the Virginia Department of Education: Restore the fundamental right of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their child. Remember, respectful communication makes the biggest impact.