King George School Board to Consider New Policy on Treatment of Transgender Students
Policy mirrors the 2023 model policy developed under outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin's Department of Education.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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The King George School Board on Wednesday will consider adopting a new policy governing the treatment of transgender students.
The new policy, titled “Treatment of Transgender Students,” closely mirrors the Virginia Department of Education’s 2023 “Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools”—a document that the VDOE in July 2023 described as “restor[ing] parental rights in decision making about their child’s identity while protecting the safety and dignity of all students.”
The VDOE model policy, and King George’s proposed new policy, directs school staff to refer to each student using only the name that appears in the student’s official record or “any nickname commonly associated” with that name.
Both policies also state that school personnel “shall refer to each student using only the pronouns appropriate to the sex appearing in the student’s official record—that is, male pronouns for a student whose sex is male, and female pronouns for a student whose sex is female.”
School personnel can use a different name or set or pronouns “only if an eligible student or a student’s parent has instructed King George County Schools in writing that such other name or other pronouns be used.”
The policies continue to state that the school division “shall not compel” staff or students to “address or refer to students in any manner that would violate their constitutionally protected rights.”
The 2023 VDOE model policies on transgender students was developed under outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, reversing policies published in 2021 under his predecessor, Democrat Ralph Northam.
The Northam-era policy stated that schools “shall allow students to use a name and gender pronouns that reflect their gender identity without any substantiating evidence.”
In situations in which parents do not agree with the student’s choice of name or pronoun, the policy stated that schools should consider “short-term solutions to address the student’s emotional needs to be affirmed at school as well as the long-term goal of assisting the family in developing solutions in their child’s best interest.”
It cited research showing that transgender youth with supportive families experience a 52% decrease in suicidal thoughts and a 46% decrease in suicide attempts. “Thus, school staff should be prepared to support the safety and welfare of transgender students when their families are not affirming,” the Northam-era policy stated.
The Youngkin-era policy, and King George’s proposed new policy, prohibits schools from “encourag[ing] or instruct[ing] teachers to conceal material information about a student from the student’s parent, including information related to gender.”
Both policies state that the school division has to comply with existing laws prohibiting disclosure of information to parents, such as when the student is at imminent risk of suicide related to parental abuse or neglect.
The Youngkin and Northam model policies were developed in response to a 2020 law requiring the VDOE to develop policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public schools. The policies must cite “evidence-based best practices” and must address student identification, records maintenance, participation in sex-specific school activities and use of facilities, “protection of student privacy and the confidentiality of sensitive information,” and “maintenance of a safe and supportive learning environment free from discrimination and harassment for all students.”
The law requires local school boards to adopt policies that are “consistent with but may be more comprehensive than the model policies.” However, the code section does not include an enforcement mechanism for the state.
According to the Virginia Mercury, just 10% of school districts adopted the Northam-era model policy. The Spotsylvania School Board was the first in the state to adopt the Youngkin-era model policy in August of 2023, but other school districts—such as Arlington, Fairfax, and Richmond—refused to consider them.
Locally, Stafford, Fredericksburg, and Caroline school divisions do not have policies that explicitly mention the treatment of transgender students or mirror the language found in either the Youngkin or Northam-era model policies, according to searches of their policy manuals.
Fredericksburg’s policy JB—titled “Equal Educational Opportunities/Nondiscrimination” and last revised in August of 2021—states simply that “equal educational opportunities are available for all students, without regard to sex, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, disability, ancestry, marital or parental status or any other unlawful basis.”
Stafford’s policy 2420-P, adopted in September of 2019 and last revised in September of 2025, reads “The school board does not unlawfully discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, political affiliation, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, marital status, mental or physical disability, age, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic prohibited by state and/or federal law. This policy covers all programs, services, policies, and procedures of Stafford County Public Schools, including all educational programs, admission to such programs, activities, and employment.”
And Caroline’s policy JB states that “Equal educational opportunities are available for all students, without regard to sex, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, disability, ancestry, or marital or parental status or any other unlawful basis. Educational programs are designed to meet the varying needs of all students.”
January 7 Meeting Overview
Consideration of the new policy in King George will occur after the School Board—with one new member, Shiloh district representative Rachel Scott—holds its annual organizational meeting at 5:30 p.m.
The board will elect a chair and vice-chair; appoint delegates to the Virginia School Board Association and representatives to the Chesapeake Bay Governor’s School, Commonwealth Governor’s School, and Academy of Technology and Innovation at UMW; make committee assignments; adopt a meeting calendar; and appoint a clerk, deputy clerk, and superintendent’s designee.
Following the organizational meeting, the board will hold a regular business meeting at 6 p.m.
Meeting Details
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