Virginia students walk out of school against anti-LGBTQ policies
Virginia students staged massive walkouts against the revised “model policies” on transgender students that was released by the State Department of Education.
Students from more than 90 middle and high schools from Alexandria to Williamsburg participated in the protests, which was organized by the student-led Virginia-based Pride Liberation Project (PLP).
Organizers estimated that more than a thousand students joined the protests, chanting their opposition to the new policies, and listening speakers.
Virginia students against anti-LGBTQ policies
The students were protecting against the policy revisions that were released last September 16. These policies were passed into law in 2020.
In a statement, Natasha Sanghvi, a student organizer with the Pride Liberation Project, said: “If these guidelines are implemented, it will be the single biggest loss for queer rights in Virginia in years.”
At the McLean High School, several hundred students walked out, led by members of the school’s GSA and PLP organizers, including McLean High School senior Casey Calabia.
Speaking through a bull horn, Calibia addressed the crowd: “Virginia stands for trans kids. Trans and queer people are a fact of humanity.”
Meanwhile, students in other schools in Virginia cities waved rainbow picket signs and shouted: “Trans rights are human rights!”
Anti-LGBTQ policies target transgender students
While the original policies on the treatment of transgender students were supposed to protect LGBTQ students, the revised model policies proposed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin have been heavily criticized.
According to activists, educators, and lawmakers, the policies mandate that students must use school facilities for the sex they were assigned at birth.
They also block students from changing their names and pronouns without permission from their parents, while limiting sports teams to gender assigned at birth.
What’s more, they order teachers and staff not to conceal a student’s gender identity from parents. This even though a student may request that information be kept private.
Macaulay Porter, Youngkin’s spokesman, said in a statement the updated policy “delivers on the governor’s commitment to preserving parental rights and upholding the dignity and respect of all public school students.”
Allies, adults join Virginia students in protest
Adults also participated in the protest like openly gay Virginia state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), who joined students at West Potomac High School in Alexandria in their protest.
In a statement, Ebbin said that the new model policies “are in flagrant violation of Virginia law” and “will do serious harm to transgender students.”
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said her daily press briefing that President Joe Biden “believes transgender youth should be allowed to be able to go to school freely, to be able to express themselves freely, to be able to have the protections that they need to be who they are.”
Currently, the policies are undergoing a 30-day public comment, which has already collected more than 17,000 responses.
Furthermore, a spokesperson for the Education Department has highlighted the model policy’s fine print, which stipulates compliance with federal law.