Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said the state's new policies on the treatment of transgender students are in compliance with state and federal nondiscrimination laws.
The opinion, requested by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) and issued early Thursday, states the Virginia Department of Education's "Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools" is within the lines of the law despite heavy pushback from LGBT groups that claim the policies create an unsafe environment for some students.
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN TRUMP TURNS HIMSELF IN TO FULTON COUNTY JAIL
The new rules also state that students' use of bathrooms and locker rooms should be based on the genders they were assigned at birth. Additionally, it mandates that students under 18 must be referred to by the names and pronouns in their official school records unless they have written permission from a parent to use an alternative. The guidelines also say schools cannot support a teacher keeping information about a student's gender from his or her parent or guardian and that parents must be given the opportunity to object to counseling services tied to a student's questions and concerns about gender.
"This official Attorney General Opinion simply confirms what the overwhelming number of Virginians already know; parents have a fundamental right to the care, upbringing, and education of their children," Miyares said in his nonbinding legal analysis. "Parents, not government, are in the best position to work with their children on important life decisions, and no parent signs up to co-parent with the government. In fact, the rights of parents are one of our oldest and most fundamental liberty interests. The Model Policies ensure that all students are treated with dignity and that parental involvement remains at the center. These policies are fully compliant with the law, and school boards across the Commonwealth should support and implement them. It's not just common sense, it's the law."
Eden Heilman, ACLU of Virginia's legal director, called Miyares's nonbinding opinion "every bit as cruel and misguided as the policies themselves."
Youngkin's administration first proposed the changes in September 2022, which were then subjected to a public comment period that the Virginia Department of Education reviewed. The state has asked school boards across Virginia to adopt the policies, though several have already said they would defy them.
On Aug. 15, Fairfax County Public Schools announced it would not sign on to the new guidelines, claiming its current policies protect transgender students and are in compliance with state and federal law. Two days later, Prince William County Public Schools followed suit.
In July, officials in Arlington and Alexandria City said they had concerns about the changes the governor made and would be sticking to policies already in place.
On Tuesday, the Virginia Beach School Board came close to adopting Youngkin's modifications. Five school board members voted in favor of it, five voted against it, and one member didn't vote, causing it to fail.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
During a recent interview with Fox News, Youngkin said the law was "very clear that I issue model policies, and local school districts have to adopt policies consistent with the model policies. And I would add to the fact that this is common sense. We are very straightforwardly saying that first, parents are in charge of their children's lives. The kids don't belong to the state. They belong to parents and to families, and they have the ultimate say in decisions that that child is going to make with a parent, not with a bureaucrat."
It is unclear how the state will enforce the new guidelines.