{"id":589414,"date":"2023-09-01T17:35:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T14:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/some-students-see-danger-in-youngkins-policies-on-transgender-students\/"},"modified":"2023-09-01T17:35:02","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T14:35:02","slug":"some-students-see-danger-in-youngkins-policies-on-transgender-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/some-students-see-danger-in-youngkins-policies-on-transgender-students\/","title":{"rendered":"#Some students see danger in Youngkin\u2019s policies on transgender students"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/08\/studentprotest_virginia_CarysOwens.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>FAIRFAX, Va. \u2014 When recent Fairfax High School graduate Beatrice Stotz considers Virginia\u2019s new education policies on transgender students, she thinks about a friend of hers whose parents aren\u2019t supportive of her gender identity.<\/p>\n<p>Among Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin\u2019s (R) recently finalized policies restricting the rights of transgender students is a prohibition on school districts creating policies to withhold information about students\u2019 gender identity from unsupportive parents.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Stotz, who is herself transgender, said she\u2019s fortunate enough to have a supportive family, but other trans students like her friend aren\u2019t so lucky.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s jarring to realize that she is the one that will be directly affected by these policies,\u201d Stotz said in an interview before graduation. \u201cIt is her life that will be uprooted because of these new regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In July, the Youngkin administration released a finalized version of policies governing the treatment of transgender students in Virginia public schools. That followed a draft version released last year that sparked statewide protests from students.<\/p>\n<p>They require students to play on sports teams and use bathrooms associated with their sex assigned at birth, with modifications offered only to the extent required under federal law, and they prohibit school staff from referring to a student by a new name or pronouns without the permission of a parent.<\/p>\n<p>But the move to allow school staff to share information with unsupportive parents is particularly concerning to LGBTQ advocates.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The proposed policies emphasize the importance of parental rights, something Youngkin campaigned on. They say school districts may not \u201cencourage or instruct teachers to conceal material information about a student from the student\u2019s parent, including information related to gender.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The only exceptions are when a law prohibits such disclosure. As an example, the policies point to a Virginia law prohibiting school staff from notifying parents that their child is at imminent risk of suicide if the reason is parental abuse or neglect.<\/p>\n<p>Stotz is one of several Virginia high school students interviewed for this article who said they are concerned the state\u2019s new policies could put transgender students at risk by outing them to their families.<\/p>\n<p>For Stotz\u2019s friend, who graduated this year, Youngkin\u2019s policy could have meant being outed to her parents, who are conservative and don\u2019t support her being transgender. Stotz said her friend was out as transgender at school but presented as male at home. Being outed could have jeopardized her relationship with her parents, Stotz said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Stotz said her friend is still not out to her parents, but she is now at college where she is more free to be herself.<\/p>\n<p>Youngkin\u2019s policies are part of a wave of bills and policies targeting the LGBTQ community in states across the nation. In February, a Virginia Senate committee voted down a House bill that would have required school staff to notify parents if their children come out as transgender.<\/p>\n<p>Even though the state\u2019s policies don\u2019t go that far, Breanna Diaz, policy and legislative counsel for the Virginia ACLU, which opposes the policies, said the rules could leave teachers feeling unsupported if they decide to withhold such information from a student\u2019s parents.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>She\u2019s also concerned conservative school districts could go further and create policies that require teachers to out transgender students.<\/p>\n<p>For many trans youth, being outed to unsupportive families can present far greater dangers than just negatively impacting their relationship with their parents. According to the LGBTQ civil rights organization <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lambdalegal.org\/know-your-rights\/article\/youth-homeless\">Lambda Legal<\/a>, 20 to 40 percent of homeless youth in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ. These youth are often kicked out by their parents or are fleeing abuse, the organization says.<\/p>\n<p>Stotz organized a walkout of what she estimates was around 200 students at Fairfax High School to protest the draft policies. It was part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of walkouts across the state on Sept. 27, 2022 that was organized by the youth-led LGBTQ advocacy group Pride Liberation Project.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Recent South County High School graduate Zayd Khan, who previously helped lead the Pride Liberation Project, said the group has seen firsthand what can h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>en when a student is outed to unsupportive parents. Last year, the Pride Liberation Project <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/prideliberation\/status\/1506847665023246336\">raised more than $4,500<\/a> to help a Fairfax County high school student who was disowned by their family after they were outed as LGBTQ.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was very disheartening just because (of) the fact that parents will go to such lengths when they hear certain things about their child,\u201d Khan said.<\/p>\n<p>When questioned about concerns the policies could put transgender students\u2019 safety at risk, a Youngkin aide pointed to the exception regarding students who are suicidal due to parental abuse or neglect as an example of how the polices protect students from abuse.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Virginia law says that school districts are required to implement policies that \u201care consistent with but may be more comprehensive than\u201d the state\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n<p>However, several school districts, including Fairfax County Public Schools, Richmond Public Schools and Arlington Public Schools, have said they won\u2019t follow the policies.<\/p>\n<p>Diaz said school districts who refuse to implement the policies could be opening themselves up to litigation from Virginia\u2019s Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a> as well as from third parties like conservative legal groups.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Virginia\u2019s Attorney General issued an advisory opinion last month saying school districts are required to implement the state\u2019s policies. Neither Youngkin\u2019s office nor the Virginia Attorney General\u2019s office answered The Hill\u2019s inquiries about what they plan to do about school districts that refuse to follow the policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Attorney General\u2019s office deferred to Youngkin\u2019s office for comment. Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said in an email, \u201cThe Virginia Department of Education has fulfilled its responsibility to develop the model policies, school boards are expected to follow the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The new rules differ sharply from Virginia\u2019s previous policies on transgender students, which were implemented in 2021 under former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Those policies said schools should \u201cconsider the health and safety of the student in situations where students may not want their parents to know about their gender identity, and schools should address this on a case-by-case basis. If a student is not ready or able to safely share with their family about their gender identity, this should be respected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDisclosing a student\u2019s gender identity can pose imminent safety risks, such as losing family support or housing,\u201d the 2021 policies said.<\/p>\n<p>In September, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wusa9.com\/article\/news\/local\/youngkin-transgender-policy-transgender-kids\/65-f8a274bb-486a-40ed-af07-f942284bc2e6?utm_source=ourcommunitynow&amp;utm_medium=web\">WUSA9<\/a> asked Youngkin what he would say to a transgender student who isn\u2019t supported by their family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would say trust your parents,\u201d Youngkin said. \u201cYou know, at the moment where there are very difficult issues in families and challenging issues in families, families come together. And this is why parents, in fact, have a role in their children\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But former Pride Liberation Project lead organizer Rivka Vizcardo-Lichter, a junior in Fairfax County, said many LGBTQ youth aren\u2019t able to safely rely on their parents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we\u2019re talking about the Youngkin administration, it almost seems as if they live in some world where all parents are good parents and all parents are supportive parents,\u201d Vizcardo-Lichter said. \u201cBut unfortunately, that\u2019s just not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media<\/a> Inc. All rights reserved. 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Among Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin\u2019s (R) recently finalized policies restricting the rights of transgender students is a prohibition on school districts&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":589415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/08\/studentprotest_virginia_CarysOwens.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134343,134353,10574,118259,124783,134614,40445,70289,134345,70291,141190,72971],"class_list":["post-589414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-campaign","tag-court-battles","tag-education","tag-glenn-youngkin","tag-international","tag-judiciary","tag-media","tag-senate","tag-state-watch","tag-transgender-rights","tag-transgender-youth","tag-virginia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}