Chesterfield School Board scales back transgender student protections
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Chesterfield School Board voted early Wednesday to roll back some protections for transgender students that have been in place since 2021.
The new policy:
- Says parents may provide "input" on the counseling services their child is receiving.
- Requires parental permission if a student wants to be called by a different name or pronouns from what's officially listed, unless the student takes back the request.
- Says the district can't force students or staff to use a student's chosen name or pronouns if it "would violate their constitutionally protected rights."
Yes, but: If public and written comments are any indicator, the 3-2 decision to change existing policy might be extremely unpopular.
- In the 49 pages of written public comment, teachers, students, parents and residents overwhelmingly asked board members to keep the protections in place.
- So did 63 of the 93 people who spoke in this week's meeting, said Dale District board member Dominique Chatters, who voted against the changes.
- Of 176 emails sent to the School Board about it, Chatters told members 132 (or 75%) were about keeping it.
The other side: Some, including Matoaca District representative Steven Paranto, were against the changes because they felt they didn't go far enough in involving parents in decisions that impact their kids.
- That's a main pillar of Gov. Glenn Youngkin's trans student policies, which some LGBTQ+ advocates have criticized as being used to justify discriminating against trans students.
Between the lines: Chesterfield took a year-and-a-half to align with Youngkin's guidance, though some differences remain.
- In Chesterfield, students and parents can decide what names and pronouns a student goes by without legal documentation.
- The county's policy also doesn't explicitly say a student has to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender assigned at birth.
Flashback: When the tables were turned in 2021, many conservative school districts ignored the previous model policy issued under former Gov. Ralph Northam, which aimed to expand protections for trans students in schools.
What we're watching: The heated debate over Chesterfield's trans student policies could be a sign of the tension to come between a county that has increasingly shifted blue and its conservative-leaning School Board.
Go deeper: Virginia school districts split on Youngkin trans policy