The university team’s transgender student plan is the subject of focus group discussions conducted by Loudoun County Public Schools.
According to Tedra Richardson, the associate superintendent for undergraduate services, the school board’s scholar services council approved spending up to$ 50, 000 to use the company, which will facilitate discussions with students, staff, and community members in private meetings over the summer and will report its findings back to the council and committee in September or October. If done right, Richardson said, she’s confident people may join.
People have been known to speak out in the most people of boards, and Richards suggested that if we found a supplier who can make it easier for those who have n’t, Richards said, “people might be inclined to do so.” Although I ca n’t speak for the people’s will, it seems like a place where we care deeply and typically communicate about what we care about.
The nine-member committee, which took office for the first time in January, is deciding whether to adhere to or not to the Transgender Student Model Policy, which requires fewer allowances for transgender pupils than the existing LCPS plan.
The Virginia Board of Education approved the unit plan last year at the governor’s request. Glenn Youngkin ( R ) encourages school personnel to speak with parents about issues and gender identity of students. Critics claim that the rule encourages workers to turn individuals to parents and is potentially harmful if their families are transphobic.
Additionally, the legislation directs school groups to permit parents to choose not to let their kids share bathrooms or locker rooms with transgender students. Moreover, it states that students must obtain parental consent before using preferred pronouns, but that school employees may refuse to do so if they believe the request is infringes their “religious freedom.”
The VDOE’s design plan conflicts with LCPS Policy 8040, which was a model policy under the then-Gov. Ralph Northam ( D). The 82, 000-student division’s roughly 65 nonbinary and transgender students are permitted to use their preferred pronouns in the rooms and locker areas that correspond to their gender identity according to the latest LCPS scheme, which was approved in August 2021. If a student is reluctant to tell their parents if their child does n’t identify with the gender assigned to them at birth, the policy forbids staff from contacting parents.
Melinda Mansfield ( Dulles ), a committee member and board chair, suggested the idea of holding focus groups last month. On March 19, Mansfield stated that she has heard a lot from board and committee members, but wants to hear more about what students and staff think before making a decision.
” A lot of us want ( to decide ) sooner rather than later, but we also want to do this right because it’s been hanging over our heads for so long”, she said. We want to do it as much as we can in a de-identified manner. We endeavor to protect student privacy as much as we can.
Karen” Kari” LaBell ( Catoctin ) a member of the committee, expressed hope that the decision-making process could be completed sooner so that the board can vote on it before the end of June.
Because this procurement process, finding the right vendor to conduct the focus groups, takes so long,” we need to look at possibly other ways of getting information that will help us make decisions,” she said. ” Both sides of the community are seeking answers sooner than that,” the statement states.
After the meeting, Mansfield claimed that having a third party facilitate the focus groups will ensure that the board receives objective information.
The board already has enough information to make a decision, according to several speakers who spoke to the committee during the period for public comments.
At the School Board’s Student Services Committee meeting on March 19 protesters held a sign holding by the Loudoun County Public Schools ‘ transgender student policy.
Times- Mirror/Evan Goodenow
According to Micheal Rivera, who has twice unsuccessfully sought a seat on the school board, Policy 8040 prioritized the needs of the smallest percentage of students over the majority of students. He claimed that the majority of students were denied privacy in locker rooms and bathrooms. According to Rivera, LCPS should mandate that they use single-useroom facilities.
A federal court ruled in 2020 that the federal Title IX statute and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution are in violation.
Rivera claimed that repealing 8040 wo n’t lead to a” catastrophic chasm of hardship” for children with gender dysphoria. ” They have bathrooms to use already”.
Additionally, Parent Ommair Butt advocated for segregated bathrooms for transgender or non-binary students.
” Just like the boys have the boy’s room, the girls have the girl’s room, nonbinary students should have their own multi- stall bathroom”, he said. ” This way when they’re going in, they’re not being harassed or looked down upon. They should have their own privacy”.
Xi Van Fleet, an author, compared Policy 8040 to the Cultural Revolution, a political purge by Mao Zedong in China from 1966 to 1976 that killed up to 1.6 million people. She questioned whether “women can be women and men can be men” and accused board members of indoctrinating students with” Marxist ideology.”
She said,” I lived through the Cultural Revolution, and we are currently experiencing the same Cultural Revolution.” ” You are now indoctrinating our kids willingly, knowingly, or unknowingly”.
Some speakers endorsed the current policy, according to their comments.
At the Student Services Committee meeting on March 19, Lara Larson addresses.
Times- Mirror/Evan Goodenow
Lara Larson said,” It saved lives by making trans kids feel more at ease being who they are and ensuring that trans kids are treated with the same respect as cisgender students are” while assisting them in this endeavor. ” I hope that LCPS continues to provide the support to one of our most vulnerable groups of students,” said the director.
Andrea Weiskopf, a Virtual Distance Learning teacher, said the policy is empathetic to trans students and protects them.
” This is n’t about what feels right to me or to you, it’s about the experiences of others and what is right for them”, she said. ” If a child mere existence makes you uncomfortable, that is on you, not them”.
