NORFOLK, Va. — The debate over the proposed 2022 transgender policies dominated the Virginia Board of Education's public comment forum on Thursday.
Dozens of frustrated parents, teachers and faith leaders addressed the board. Some said the policy is a necessary step in parental rights, others said it will have a direct negative effect on transgender youth.
"If you enact these policies children will die," said Guin Hartinger, a transgender person from Richmond. "If you are not willing to defend vulnerable children, then you have no honor."
"My parental rights do not stop where your feelings begin in a pseudo-science that is destroying children," said one speaker who supports Gov. Glenn Youngkin's administration proposal.
Under the current proposal, all students must use the bathroom and locker room of their biological sex. Information about a child's gender orientation can not be hidden by teachers, and parents can object to counseling services given to their children about gender.
"As long as they cannot get Tylenol or Advil without parent consent, then they cannot be allowed to transition their gender without parent consent!" said one mother in support of the policy change.
A Virginia school counselor addressed the Board of Education to say she is afraid the proposed change will only isolate transgender children more than they already feel.
"Trans youth, in particular, are six times more likely to miss school and a third of LGBTQ+ kids missed an entire day of school in the last month all because they felt unsafe," said Morgan Meadows, a school counselor in Henrico County.
An online public comment period on the draft policies has already prompted more than 60,000 responses. Virginians can weigh in through Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022.