The American Civil Liberties Union is taking a stand against Gov. Glenn Younkin’s 2022 Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools. This policy puts authority in the hands of parents where their kids are concerned.
The governor’s plan says, “Schools shall respect parents’ values and beliefs: Parents have the right to instill in and nurture values and beliefs for their own children and make decisions concerning their children’s education and upbringing in accordance with their customs, faith, and family culture.”
It also says that schools should defer to parents to make the best decisions about, “(a) what names, nicknames, and/or pronouns, if any, shall be used for their child by teachers and school staff while their child is at school, (b) whether their child engages in any counseling or social transition at school that encourages a gender that differs from their child’s sex, or (c) whether their child expresses a gender that differs with their child’s sex while at school.”
Younkin’s policy focuses on the Supreme Court’s assessment that a parent’s right to raise his or her child is possibly the oldest of the fundamental liberties recognized by the court.
The Washington Free Beacon wrote that Virginia’s plan will preserve sex-specific sports teams, locker rooms, and restrooms.
But the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia (ACLUVA) isn’t buying it. They released a statement that says this plan is contrary to state law and it will result in violations of the rights of students, parents, and school personnel. They are demanding that the administration retract the 2022 Model Policies because it is counter to the educational process.
The ACLU believes that this policy is grounded in “assumptions” instead of “science.”
They wrote that biological sex is a binary and a person’s biological sex is not easily ascertained.
So Virginia is right in the center of two massive battles: Sex vs. Gender and Government vs. Parents.
