Local school districts have no choice but to follow Gov. Youngkin's new guidance on transgender students, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said in an advisory legal opinion last week.

Yes, but: That's apparently not the way many local school districts see it.

Catch up fast: The Youngkin administration's new model policy, which was formally released in July, would roll back protections for transgender students, dictating which bathrooms they can use and making it more difficult to change names and pronouns.

What's happening: So far, school districts in just two localities — Spotsylvania and Roanoke counties — have adopted the policy.

• Meanwhile, several other large Northern Virginia districts have rejected it, including Arlington, Fairfax and Prince William counties, per the Virginia Mercury.

The latest: Virginia Beach's school board members found themselves deadlocked on the issue last week, meaning, at least for now, it won't go into effect there.

Why it matters: The vote in Virginia Beach in particular shows the issue remains controversial even in some conservative districts.

What they're saying: Miyares argued in his nonbinding legal opinion that school districts don't really have a choice in the matter.

• "These policies are fully compliant with the law, and school boards across the Commonwealth should support and implement them," he wrote. "It's not just common sense, it's the law."

The other side: School districts that have rejected the policy have said they are confident their existing stance meets the requirements of state and federal law.

Keep reading for what Richmond-area districts are doing

Roughly 2.2% of homes are worth at least $1 million in the Richmond-metro area, up from 1.9% a year ago, per a new report from Redfin, Axios' Sami Sparber reports.

• That's more than triple the percentage of Richmond homes that were worth a million or more in 2020.

Why it matters: Low inventory is pushing up prices nationwide and sending more homes into seven-figure territory.

The big picture: Nearly 1 in 10 U.S. homes were valued at $1 million or more in June, a share close to last summer's all-time high and up from a 12-month low in February, the real estate brokerage found.

• Virginia's slice of million-dollar houses has risen 3.2 percentage points since pre-pandemic June 2019, data shared with Axios shows.

Zoom out: Prices are largely dictated by local markets. The portion of homes worth at least that much was up slightly compared to June 2022 in 55 of the 99 most populous U.S. metros, according to Redfin.

• Parts of New England gained million-dollar homes fastest, but San Francisco posted the highest share at more than 81%.

🏛 State budget leaders announced they've finalized an agreement on the state's long-overdue budget. (WRIC)

• But beyond confirming earlier reports that the deal centers around $200-per-person tax rebates, details remain scant.

🏘 An income-based housing complex in the works in Eastern Henrico is getting $2 million in federal funding to help with the project. (BizSense)

🍽 O'Charley's closed 18 restaurants nationwide last week, including one in Chesterfield near 288 and Hull Street, leaving the restaurant chain with two Richmond locations. Pre-pandemic, there were six. (WRIC)

Richmond — and, of course, our dining scene — is racking up all kinds of national media attention this summer.

• And this time, we're not even talking about a song about rich men and who should or shouldn't pay for fudge rounds.

What's happening: Richmond is the end-of-summer road trip everyone needs to take, Forbes wrote last week. Standout new restaurants and bars make it the perfect time to make the drive down, according to Eater DC and its 18 essential Richmond restaurants list.

• If you're already planning a trip, Garden & Gun rounded up 10 must-do stops.
• Meanwhile, one of the best new restaurants in the country can be found right here in RVA in Celladora, says Wine Enthusiast.
• As can one of the best new restaurants in the South with Kismet Modern Indian, per Southern Living.

What they're saying: "Smaller than major U.S. cities but bigger than a town, the size of Virginia's capital city feels just right. … Richmond also brims with history, culture, and a thriving food scene, so there's something for everyone," Forbes wrote.

Zoom in: On the food front, folks found lots to love in Penny's Wine Shop, Pizza Bones, the Queen's Library Tea Room and Hatch Local Food Hall, plus the usual beloved stalwarts.

• And on culture, Lewis Ginter (and the "Incanto" exhibition), the Poe Museum, American Civil War Museum, the Wild Wander and Richmond Night Market, in addition to VMFA, Hollywood and, of course, the river.

The bottom line: Richmond rocks.

Ice cream is happy and wholesome, but this week, let's allow it to divide and tear us apart.

What's happening: We're embarking on a journey to crown the best ice cream shop in Richmond.

• And for maximum dramatic effect, we've tuned the first round to pit neighbors against neighbors, gelato shops against gelato shops and so on.

Details: We made up some arbitrary rules to guide us, limiting the contest to brick-and-mortar shops and excluding big national chains (and giving some smaller ones a pass).

• We'll post new rounds daily through Friday, when we name our winner.

Of note: If your favorite ice cream shop is not on the list, please send complaints directly to Karri. It's her fault.

🗳 Voting is open until 3pm

The inaugural Iron Blossom festival took over Bon Secours Training Center Saturday and Sunday to sold-out crowds of around 12,000 people a day.

• The festival seemed like an overwhelming success, aside from too few water stations and an extremely hot Saturday, some attendees told Axios.

Did you go? What did you think? Hit reply and let us know.