Repost from Old Dominion Post.
Last year’s gubernatorial race in Virginia came down to the stark contrasts between education policy. Glenn Youngkin made promises to keep parents involved. That message won and Youngkin has been keeping his promises.
Virginia Department of Education announced revisions to the former administration’s reckless education policies. The new guidelines are a return to normalcy, so they are not really new; it was the Northam administration’s policies that were completely new and inconsistent with offering an honest education. Those policies allowed teachers to withhold information from parents, forced teachers to use pronouns that were factually incorrect, and permitted students to use the bathroom of their opposite sex. And Democrat Terry McAuliffe ran on those policies. Virginians rejected those ideas at the polls when they elected Youngkin, along with a Republican sweep of the statewide offices, and a change to a Republican majority in the House of Delegates.
As promised, the new administrations’ guidelines keep parents informed about their child’s life altering decisions, such as changing their pronoun. The policy also empowers teachers by allowing them to reject the false premise that biological sex does not determine gender. The guidelines are effective immediately.
Cited in the guidelines is “The Code of Virginia, § 1-240.1: Provides that a “parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent’s child.” Schools may not abrogate the rights of parents.” Again, that was the winning campaign message last cycle and a mandate to deliver.
Also included in the revisions is the requirement that students play on the appropriate sports teams based on biological sex, which protects girls.