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 receives.
• Requires parental permission if a student wants to be called by a different name or pronouns than 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 as is. 
• 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.

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. Youngkin's trans student policies, which some LGBTQ advocates have criticized as being used to justify discriminating against trans students.

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.

Keep reading for the differences between Youngkin and Chesterfield's policies

The cut to be one of Virginia's one-percenters is now just over $770,000 a year.

Why it matters: You're likely not one of the 38,483 Virginians who made that 1% earning threshold, per IRS data.

• If you are ... hey there. Call us. Let's be besties.

Driving the news: The Old Dominion's 1% threshold is lower than the national average of nearly $800,000, but the bar varies considerably by state.

How it works: These figures are based on adjusted gross income (AGI) reported on tax filings in the 2021 tax year, adjusted to 2024 dollars.

By the numbers: Washington, D.C., has the highest threshold for one-percenters, at about $1.22 million.

• Connecticut ($1.17 million), Massachusetts ($1.13 million) and California ($1.05 million) follow.
• West Virginia has the lowest. There, one needs to make about $426,000 to be in the 1%.

Check in with your rich friend

💰 The state has a budget surplus of over $2 billion heading into next year's session, which is leading even Democrats to consider tax breaks of some sort — probably not for the 1%, though. (WVTF)

🚫 Virginia is one of 19 states where DACA recipients will be temporarily blocked from signing up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act after a federal judge ruling on Monday. (AP)

🌸 Iron Blossom Music Festival is coming back Sept. 20-21, 2025 to the Training Center on Leigh. (Press release)

• Presale tickets for those who don't care that the artists haven't been announced yet go up tomorrow at noon.

If you haven't gotten into the holiday spirit yet in Richmond, there's no time like the present (aka this weekend).

Thursday

🍻 Starr Hill is toasting to its five-year anniversary all weekend, starting with a birthday beer release on Thursday, a holiday pageant Friday (7-9pm), a Saturday holiday market (12-5pm) and a Sunday puppy party at 2pm.

Friday

🎉 Celebrate Taylor Swift's birthday at The Park with Taylor-themed drinks. 8pm-midnight. $10.

Saturday

⛵️ Watch the "Boat Parade of Lights," the annual holiday tradition where people take their decorated boats down the James River starting at 3101 Wharf Street. 5pm. Free. 

Sunday

🎅 Take pics with Santa and eat food court snacks at Bingo Beer's 90s-mall-inspired holiday market. 12-5pm. Free.

Full list including Christmas carols via string quartet, salsa dancing in ugly Christmas sweaters and a last-minute gift shopping opportunity

Nearly 600,000 Christmas trees were grown and cut in Virginia in 2022, making the Commonwealth among the nation's top producers of Christmas trees that year, according to the recent federal data.

By the numbers: We're far behind Oregon and our neighbors in North Carolina, which cut 4.8 million and 3.2 million trees that year, respectively, per data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

• But we beat New York, despite it having more Christmas tree farms (875) than Virginia (over 480).
• You can find a Virginia Christmas tree farm near you here.

Go deeper for the real vs. artificial tree debate