Residents Denounce ‘Dangerous’ Transgender Policies for WCPS Students

Warren County resident Jackie Stocker (above), during the Warren County School Board’s Aug. 2 meeting, criticized specific state-enacted policies that she thinks put certain students in danger.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s recently released transgender policies for K-12 students should not be implemented in Warren County Public Schools (WCPS), according to some residents, who think the model policies could pose dangerous risks for students.

Youngkin’s 2023 transgender policies were developed by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE)  in response to state bills that were enacted by the 2020 Virginia General Assembly and are known as Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools.

Pursuant to Section 22.1-23.3 of the Code of Virginia, the document serves as a model for local school boards, which, by law, had to implement their own policies consistent with the state’s model policies by the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. 

Rather than develop new policies based on the new model policies, the Warren County School Board in 2021 voted 3-2 to adopt Youngkin’s transgender policy changes, which removed some of the protections afforded to transgender students under the previous Northam administration. 

For instance, the 2023 policies:

• Require students to use school bathrooms that match the sex they were assigned at birth “except to the extent that federal law otherwise requires;” and 
• Require school division personnel to refer to each student using only the pronouns “appropriate to the sex appearing in the student’s official record.

In contrast, the former Northam administration’s policies allowed students to use names and pronouns that reflected their gender identity without “any substantiating evidence,” among others.

Jackie Stocker, a local mother of a transgender child, told School Board members during the community participation segment of their Aug. 2 regular meeting that the state policies finalized on July 18 by Youngkin’s administration could place LGBTQ youth in danger. 

Such children, she said, are often subjected to unjust biases, exclusion, and in some cases, violence, even at home. 

“Keeping this in mind, it’s paramount that we tread carefully, particularly when it comes to revealing their identity to others,” Stocker told the board members. “Outing someone is not just a breach of trust; it can lead to devastating consequences for the child.”

For instance, outing a transgender student could lead to physical and emotional abuse, she said, and they potentially could be denied their rights to freedom of expression, privacy, and safety. 

“LGBTQ kids matter. They have a right to exist the same as you or I. If you require this [policy], then you’ll personally be responsible for increased risks of suicide,” Stocker said, pointing to national data reports that show a rise in suicide among such students when they do not consent to having their gender identity revealed to their parent or guardian.

Connor Trevor, who also lives in Warren County and is a former WCPS student, said that all transgender kids deserve an environment where they feel safe and respected, and he asked the board to reconsider implementing Youngkin’s policy. 

“You must recognize that disclosing their gendered identity to their parents might not always be safe or affirming to them,” Trevor said. “By maintaining confidentiality for transgender students, you create a haven where they can freely express themselves without fear of repercussions.” 

Many transgender youth, he added, grapple with the fear of rejection, misunderstanding, or even harm from their own families, all of which can negatively impact their mental health and overall well-being. Trevor urged the board members to consider policies that would empower students to make their own decisions about their personal lives, including the timing and manner of disclosing their gender identity to their parents.

And Trevor said the board should instead consider devising its own policy that would serve “as an important ally in the fight against discrimination and marginalization.” 

“By safeguarding the privacy of transgender students,” Trevor said, “you demonstrate a commitment to valuing each student for who they are, contributing to a more compassionate and accepting society.

“And if you ever ask yourself ‘what would Jesus do?’” he concluded, “flipping tables is not outside the realm of possibility.” 

Stevie Hubbard, another County resident who is the mom to two WCPS graduates, acknowledged to the School Board that the transgender policies are a complex issue. 

On one hand, Hubbard said, as a parent, she would want to know what her child was experiencing and to be able to help guide her child as he or she navigated the possibility of being transgender. “I do understand; I would be offended as a parent if you didn’t tell me something, so I get that,” said Hubbard. “But also, as a parent, there’s nothing that my children could reveal to me about themselves that would make me love them any less.”

And while she’d like to think most parents feel the same way, Hubbard said she realizes that they don’t, “and that poses a big danger to students that are having these conflicts, and that’s my concern,” she said.

“We have to be very crafty with whatever policy we decide to adopt to make sure that if a kid isn’t being listened to if they aren’t being heard, that we are providing some kind of shield of protection for them, as well,” Hubbard added. 

School Board Chair Kristen Pence, Vice Chair Ralph Rinaldi, and board members Antoinette Funk, Andrea Lo, and Melanie Salins were present during the meeting. 

Rinaldi thanked Trevor and the parents for speaking to the board members about the transgender policies, which were not an agenda item for the board’s Aug. 2 meeting. 

“Be assured, I will always try and do the best I can for all students in Warren County,” he said. “It’s just not a specific group, whether a kid’s a ball player and they need assistance in that or a transgender kid. I will try my best to make sure that these kids are protected within whatever we can do.”

Salins sent a statement to the Royal Examiner pointing out that because the School Board in 2021 voted to adopt the 2023 transgender policy changes, “our district does not need to vote on the matter because the new policy will automatically be implemented.”

She added that the new policy ensures the protection of all students, honors parental rights, requires schools to notify parents within 24 hours of any incident of bullying, and requires schools to partner with parents to serve the needs of all children. “I would encourage everyone to read the full text of the policy,” Salins said in her statement. [To read the 2023 transgender policies in their entirety, go HERE.] 

Board Chair Pence told the Royal Examiner in an interview this afternoon that no changes are being made to the district’s non-discrimination policy and that a new form is being developed by WCPS administrators that must be filled out giving parental consent if a student wants to use a different name and/or pronoun. 

“We are required to have this document on file that the parent is consenting to their child’s preference,” Pence said. “We don’t have the form available yet, and there’s a mad rush to make sure families do have it before school starts [on Aug. 9].”

Pence said the form hopefully will be available by Monday and for Back-to-School night. “If families want to call their base school and speak to the principal about the form, we encourage them to do so,” she said.

The board chairwoman also said it’s important for families to know that WCPS is not changing a child’s school record, just what the child wants to be called at school. 

“Some of the parents who spoke at our meeting this past week seemed worried we’d be calling parents and singling students out,” Pence said. “That’s not the case. The form is required and has to be submitted showing there’s parental consent for the student to use a different name.”

Board actions 

In action on Wednesday night, the School Board unanimously approved a new WCPS logo designed by JJ Bourgain (above), a Warren County High School student. [Note: Her winning design is pictured below.]

Bourgain also said that the mountains in the background and the bushes in the foreground showcase the beauty of the local area and town, as well as the school system.

“I am extremely grateful that I was even considered for this, and I am very, very thankful to be given this opportunity,” Bourgain told the board. 

Bourgain was the 1st place winner among three finalists and won a $500 scholarship to use upon graduation. Kami King, who attends Skyline Middle School, won 2nd place and a $250 scholarship to use upon graduation; and 3rd place went to Luke Natalie, a Skyline Middle School student who won a $100 scholarship to use upon graduation.

Board Vice Chair Rinaldi thanked the student participants for their hard work. 

“Whenever you get that type of participation, and people take ownership, that’s what these students did. They stepped up, and they took ownership, and they were successful, all of them,” he said. 

In other action, the board unanimously approved:

• The modified Policy GAE Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting requires all school employees to report child abuse and neglect directly to the local Department of Social Services or to the Virginia Department of Social Services toll-free child abuse and neglect hotline and to the person in charge of the school or department. The policy update also includes yearly training by all school staff.
• $22,650 to be used from the Leslie Fox Keyser Elementary School (LFK) Renovation Contingency fund to add window blinds for classrooms at the elementary school. The window coverings will serve as both a means of safety and light adjustment, according to WCPS staff.
• Rate increases/renewal addendum to the 2023-24 contract for ESS Northeast LLC, the school division’s substitute teacher provider. To stay competitive with neighboring districts, WCPS recommended having a differential in pay between degreed and non-degreed substitute teacher placements. Currently, both positions have the same rate. The majority of divisions offer a higher pay rate to degreed substitutes than those non-degreed, WCPS Personnel Director Jody Lee told the board. 

“This has also been a concern expressed by current degree substitutes in the lack of separation devalues their credentials,” he said. “In addition, we do not currently have a rate for a long-term IA [instructional assistant] that is often requested.”

Click here to watch the School Board’s Aug. 2 meeting in its entirety.