ACLU Sues Virginia Education Department Over Model Policies For Trans Students

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed two lawsuits Thursday against the Virginia Department of Education over its parental rights model policies.

The department adopted the Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in July 2023, which “safeguard parental rights” when it comes to their children’s education. The ACLU, which is suing on behalf of two transgender students, accused the department of pushing an “ideological and political agenda” by only allowing biological females in women’s sports, locker rooms and bathrooms and not using preferred pronouns. (RELATED: Little-Noticed Study Reveals 12 To 14-Year-Olds Had Their Breasts Chopped Off In Blue State Healthcare System)

“In both cases, we argue that the 2023 Model Policies do not comply with the 2020 state law requiring VDOE to develop model policies ensuring inclusive and equitable treatment of transgender and nonbinary students in Virginia public schools,” the ACLU’s press release reads.

Protesters and activists stand outside a Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) board meeting in Ashburn, Virginia on October 12, 2021. - Loudoun county school board meetings have become tense recently with parents clashing with board members over transgender issues, the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Covid-19 mandates. Recently tensions between groups of parents and the school board increased after parents say an allegedly transgender individual assaulted a girl at one of the schools. Earlier this month US Attorney General Merrick Garland directed federal authorities to hold strategy sessions in the next month with law enforcement to address the increasing threats targeting school board members, teachers and other employees in the nation's public schools. This in response to a request from the National School Boards Association asking US President Joe Biden for federal assistance to investigate and stop threats made over policies including mask mandates, likening the vitriol to a form of domestic terrorism. (Photo by Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Protesters and activists stand outside a Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) board meeting in Ashburn, Virginia on October 12, 2021. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

The department’s policies require students to use bathrooms and locker rooms based on biological sex, with an exception if parents request that their child use a separate bathroom if they have concerns about their child’s “privacy.” Students are also required to participate in sports that match their biological sex.

One of the plaintiffs alleges in the lawsuit that the model policies put transgender students at “risk of further harassment” and criticized the provision requiring teachers and students to use biological pronouns. Instead, the complaint touts the previous policies which required schools to hide a student’s transgender identity from parents.

“The 2021 Model Policies advised school districts that sharing information about a student’s gender identity without their knowledge or consent ‘could expose a student to harassment and abuse from peers or adults within the school community,'” the lawsuit reads. “In contrast, the 2023 Model Policies prohibit schools from educating school personnel on the risks that intentional or accidental disclosure of a student’s gender identity pose to transgender students.”

Todd Reid, a spokesperson for the department, told the DCNF that they had not “received copies of the lawsuits and … are unable to discuss ongoing litigation.”

In September, several parents filed a lawsuit against the Virginia Beach School Board for refusing to adopt the model policies and demanded that schools protect “the rights of parents.” Other school boards, such as the Amherst County School Board, have also decided against adopting the department’s new rules.

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