The Riley Roundup: Transgender Educational Warfare, Part 2

metroweekly.com:

model policies” for the treatment of transgender students.The policies, which have rankled many LGBTQ advocates and allies, are expected to serve as guidelines for how local school districts deal with students who are transgender or gender-nonconforming.

Under the policies, students are barred from using school facilities or participating in extracurricular activities that don’t match the sex listed on their official school record.Changes to that gender marker require parents to submit legal documentation, such as a birth certificate or passport, to schools.Parents must provide written permission in order for students to go by a different name or pronouns; however, individual teachers and administrators can ignore parents’ requests even in cases where permission has been granted.Miyares’s advisory opinion, which is not legally binding, asserts that the model policies are perfectly compliant with federal and state nondiscrimination laws, and asserts that school boards must adopt policies in line with them — although state law is silent on how the state can compel school boards into compliance, reports NBC Washington.Additionally, several conservative districts refused to adopt pro-transgender policies put forth by former Democratic Gov.

Ralph Northam’s administration, and were never punished for doing so.Therefore, it’s unclear what steps state authorities can take to force more liberal jurisdictions that have rejected or failed to adopt the model polices, including Fairfax County, Arlington County, Richmond City, and Virginia Beach.The ACLU of Virginia has sought to remind districts that the attorney general’s opinion is not binding.“Virginia courts are not required to follow it,” the ACLU said in a statement, according to Virginia Mercury. “School boards continue to have an obligation to create safe, inclusive school environments for all students in compliance with state and federal law.”Gov.