What consequences could Virginia schools face if they don’t adopt proposed transgender policy?

RICHMOND, Va. — In a Monday night time assembly, the Richmond Public College Board declared its disagreement with a proposed coverage that might query the rights of transgender college students in Virginia faculties.

The college board’s assertion comes only one week after tens of hundreds of Virginians shared their opinions on Governor Glenn Youngkin’s new Virginia Division of Training (VDOE) draft coverage that might impression transgender and non-binary college students.

The proposed coverage places heavy emphasis on parental rights with how college districts ought to deal with college students who determine as transgender.

Whereas the coverage continues to be in public remark for the following few weeks, it isn’t stopping some college districts. RPS, one in all these districts, voted to simply accept a decision to reject the proposed mannequin insurance policies.

They mentioned that the proposed coverage rolls again efforts to guard transgender college students.

“My concern is that if we delay it might ship a message to ship to those younger people who we don’t care about them and that’s the farthest from the reality,” Shonda Harris-Muhammed, one board member, mentioned.

RPS’ transfer comes earlier than the VDOE will overview feedback after which they are going to resolve to make any adjustments to the coverage.

The transfer from college districts like RPS to denounce the coverage has introduced up the query of what’s going to occur if districts resolve to not observe the ultimate coverage handed down.

In a written assertion, the VDOE mentioned the 2020 laws that prompted them by legislation to make this coverage would not tackle penalties for non-compliance. Nevertheless, they cited a Virginia code that claims that native college boards should “see that the college legal guidelines are correctly defined, enforced and noticed”.

They mentioned that Virginia code additionally supplies for the judicial overview of native college board selections.

Jack Preis, a professor of legislation on the College of Richmond, mentioned that if a college board would not undertake the mannequin coverage, particular person mother and father can sue the college board for non-compliance. Preis referenced a memo the previous Virginia State Superintendent launched when the unique insurance policies have been handed down for varsity boards to use.

He added that he believes the success or failure of a selected lawsuit is not going to be as a result of a college district does or would not undertake the mannequin coverage however can be primarily based on whether or not a selected motion by the college district violates the rights of a pupil.

“The mannequin coverage doesn’t create rights. It merely tries to information college districts in how they respect the rights of its college students,” Preis mentioned.

Mother and father may have till October 26 to make feedback on the VDOE’s web site. The VDOE will then overview the feedback and decide if any adjustments are warranted earlier than the insurance policies are handed all the way down to native college boards to implement.