RICHMOND, Va. – Spotsylvania County School Board became the first school board in the Commonwealth to enact the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE)’s 2023 model policies for the treatment of transgender and nonbinary students this week when it voted 4-2-1 to implement them in Spotsylvania schools.
In response to the vote, ACLU of Virginia Policy and Legislative Counsel Breanna Diaz released the following statement:
“At best, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE)’s new model policies for the treatment of transgender and nonbinary students invite discrimination that violates state and federal law. At worst, they require it. These hateful, dangerous policies have no place in Virginia schools.
“It is shameful that the VDOE has chosen to advance a divisive political agenda rather than listen to the record-breaking number of Virginia parents, teachers, and young people who submitted comments opposing these policies. And it's disappointing that Spotsylvania followed suit by rushing this week’s vote, much as it did when it passed an overzealous book ban policy this spring.
“Spotsylvania parents who don’t want to see their schools turned into a political battlefield should remember what’s at stake this fall when this school board is up for election. Up and down the ballot, every vote counts. Spotsylvania community members should vote their values this November.”
