Chesterfield County, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - The Chesterfield School Board met last night, and over 130 people signed up to speak during the comment period – nearly all of them were either strongly in favor or strongly opposed the proposed changes to the division’s transgender policy.
Just days before the meeting, the proposal was changed. Those adjustments included a shift from mandating parental notification when a student wants a change in name or pronouns to disclosing only by parental request.
In a three-to-two vote, the board ultimately voted to amend its 2021 policy to include Governor Glenn Youngkin’s policies on transgender students. The policy was approved by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) back in July. However, the board amended the original policy to include additional changes.
The 2021 policy originally stated that a student could request to go by a different name or pronouns at school. Under the changes, the school will now need approval from both the student and the parent.
The board also amended the original draft to remove the process of school staff reaching out to the parent for this approval, meaning the school will not be responsible for notifying the parent if their child requests to go by a different name or pronoun different from their school record.
School board members also made an amendment regarding access to facilities, stating that single-use facilities like bathrooms will be made available to any student who requests privacy.
Full details of the amended policy can be viewed here.
