Win for Parents' Rights: 5 Actions You Can Take to Help!
Did you catch the big news this week on a key win for parents? Gov. Youngkin and his administration responded to your voices and revamped the controversial holdover policies from the Northam administration on transgender issues in schools. The revisions restore some of the most crucial rights of parents. Among other things, they direct schools to stop concealing vital information from parents, especially when children experiment with their gender identity at school. For a quick debrief on what's at stake and what you can do about it, watch our latest "Speak Up!" video. We've also outlined action steps below:
You'll find more detailed resources on our Protect Every Kid website, but here are 5 key actions you can take right away to help restore protection for parental rights and kids' safety in your neighborhood schools:
Attend the Virginia State Board of Education meeting on Thursday, July 27, or sign up to speak virtually. It is important to take this opportunity to thank the Youngkin administration and Virginia Department of Education officials for doing the right thing and listening to the voices of parents—because the best way to protect as many kids as possible is to protect their parents’ rights. (Meetings are usually held at 9 a.m. in the James Monroe Building, 101 N. 14th Street, Richmond, VA 23219. And you'll need to arrive early to ensure a seat.) If you cannot attend, you can also submit a public comment.
Contact your local school board members and ask them to align their policies with the revised “2023 Model Policies on Ensuring the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools.”
Sign up to speak—either in person or via video—at your local school board meetings. Ask your school board members to take a vote as soon as possible to align with the parent-friendly, revised policies. By law, schools must implement their own policies that are consistent with these revised model policies from the education department. (You'll find easy-to-use, "what to say" tips at our Protect Every Kid website.)
Share teen de-transitioner Chloe Cole’s 3-minute testimony with your school board members (see below).
And last but not least, spread the word by downloading the Protect Every Kid “speak up” tools, including a downloadable flyer, more detailed Conversation Tips, and a comparison chart between the old and revised policies. (For more speak-up tools, click the Protect Every Kid button below.)
