Last year, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) released its model policies- causing protests at Robinson Secondary and all over Virginia public schools. This was because the policies mentioned required school personnel to only use a student’s legal name and their pronouns assigned at birth. However, those policies were from a year ago- and the new policies of 2023- are quite similar with few to no changes. According to NBC News 4, FCPS have responded by refusing to comply with these model policies. If instated, would be harmful to transgender students in many ways.
So what’s in the 2023 Model Policies?
In section D; Identification of students, school personnel are required to refer to students by only their legal name or any nickname that’s commonly associated with their legal name (for example Katherine and Katie). They also require that the school personnel only refer to their students with the pronouns assigned to them at birth. The only possible way a student that wants to use a new name and/or pronouns that are more comfortable with them is to have their parent in writing instruct the school to use their new name and/or pronouns.
Also, trans students would be required to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender assigned at birth and if they would like to join a sport, they would be required to join a sport based on their gender assigned at birth, in section G. This can all be found in the “Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools” in the Sample Policy.
Even if a parent of a trans student wishes to have the school respect their child’s new name and/or pronouns, teachers can still call their child by their former name (deadname) or use their former pronouns, listed in V. Development, section C. School districts are not required to adopt these model policies- FCPS and also Arlington County Public Schools (ACPS) are some of the districts that choose not to adopt these policies, according to Metro Weekly.
How are these policies harmful?
Let’s define the term transgender first. The word transgender (or ‘trans’ for short), according to Mayo Clinic, is an umbrella term that defines gender identity and fluidity. Transgender people identify with a gender identity that is different from the one assigned to them at birth. This includes those who don’t identify with being a girl or a boy. These policies can be harmful to transgender students and their capacity to learn as these policies can invalidate their identities.
Transgender kids that don’t transtion have statistically higher suicide rates, which are already high for transgender kids in general, according to a study conducted by the Canadian Medical Journal. More information can be found in the previous article, “The Youngkin Administration’s Model Policies,
The Current Situation
In Virginia Beach, two parents have filed a lawsuit against the school board to adopt the new 2023 Model policies, according to an article by the Washington Post. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has also threatened to punish school districts that do not implement these policies by taking legal action against them, as according to another Washington Post article, “The statements from Youngkin seemed to suggest that the administration could take legal action against school districts that reject the policies.” FCPS may be at risk legally for not implementing them, as Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares posted an advisory opinion, stating that school boards are required to comply with the policies and that they follow state and federal laws.
Advocates of the model policies say that it protects parent’s rights, and the school boards that reject these policies are therefore infringing on their rights. They are also encouraged to sue their school boards for not following these policies by Miyares. These advocates are also applauded by Youngkin, as he said in an interview, “I’m proud of them for standing up for their children and for kids. I support them… I firmly believe that there is no other decision for school boards than to adopt the model policies or policies consistent with the model policies.”
So what happened to the previous policies in 2022? According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the 2022 model policies were drafts of the current model policies, which is why they had to go through a 30 day public comment period. After they finalized the policies this year, school districts across Virginia were directed to implement these policies. The 2023 model policies are just revised editions of the 2022 drafts. While there was massive backlash against the model policies from last year, the resistance was ignored and was still published for school districts to follow now.
How is Robinson Responding?
The Genders and Sexualities Alliance, or GSA, was founded after the protest of the model policies in 2022 by Jaeda Lawton, as she revived the club in order to make a safe space for LGBTQ+ people and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. Meeting every other Wednesday after school, it is led by President Max Haussermann and Vice President Kaz Shockey. In GSA, people do fun activities including some games, but most importantly, it serves as a safe space for people who may need one. People who are not a part of the LGBTQ+ community can also join the club and overall, the club serves as a fun place to hang out with friends after school and also to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
Junior Bolt Evans, member of GSA said about the club, “I wanted to be part of a community with more LGBTQ+ students just to have a safe space because that’s not really something at my house.” Many people also shared similar sentiments, as sophomore Kaz Shockey said, “I joined the club because I wanted to have a place where I can connect with other people, other LGBTQ+ people in the school and also help be an activist and to help something bigger than myself.” He continued, “This club is special because we get really close and there’s a lot of opportunities to learn, and to help and to just have fun.”Senior Max Haussermann also said, “I just really liked the club…and I loved the things that it stood for. I loved the community and I really just found inspiration working to help the people and create a safe space and the leader last year was a senior and she left and when she was leaving, I realized that this [being President] was something I definitely wanted to do.”
Alongside creating a safe space for those who need it, the club also plans to do some advocacy, as Haussermann said, “There’s no current set in stone plans- we want to do a lot of raising awareness, a lot of different things for the community- what those are haven’t been decided yet and are still in review, but there is hopefully going to be something.” He added, “Last year, we actually started pretty late because it started after the walkout for the same policy. This year, we’re going to focus more effort on expanding and just being a safe space and being there for the people who definitely need it.” Education, hands-on activities, protests and out of school activities were also planned.
On the topic of the 2023 model policies however, Haussermann said, “My biggest problem with it was the outing problem- someone could go to GSA and someone could see them at GSA and tell a counselor or a teacher or anyone that they are gay or transgender and they would have to be outed by the policy, which would make people more hesitant to come.” He added, “I think it’s the biggest problem that we’re facing now. There’s also a lot of the people in the club who could be affected by the deadnaming policies, by the bathroom policies because we do have a lot of transgender people.”
The implementation of these policies would be devastating to the lives of LGBTQ+ students not only at Robinson, but across Virginia. Despite this, Robinson still fosters a safe and welcoming environment in its GSA and students can help their LGBTQ+ peers by treating them kindly, respectfully and accepting them for their identities. The GSA continues to have a spirit of activism in its club, and also a place where LGBTQ+ students can find a place where they are understood, valued and accepted. However, the GSA shouldn’t be the only place where LGBTQ+ students feel accepted and safe; Robinson should work to make a safe place for everyone, including LGBTQ+ people.
