At a rally last week, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) criticized a school district for directing teachers to transition "transgender" students without their parents knowledge.
To recap, Townhall reported last month how it was revealed that teachers in Fairfax County, Virginia were required to a complete training program ahead of the 2022-2023 school year that says parental consent is not required for transgender students who want to “socially” transition. “Social transitioning” includes going by a preferred name and preferred pronouns that align with someone’s “gender identity.”
"They [school officials] think that parents have no right to know what your child is discussing with their teacher or their counselor, particularly when some of the most important topics, most important topics that a child may want to discuss are being determined," Youngkin said at the rally, according to Fox News Digital.
"What's their name? What pronoun will they use? How are they going to express their gender? This is a decision that bureaucrats in Fairfax County believe that they should be able to make without telling parents,” he added.
As Townhall covered, the training program, “Supporting Gender Expansive and Transgender Youth,” was assigned on July 22 for teachers in all grade levels at Fairfax County Public Schools, including preschool, according to the Washington Examiner.
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Materials from the training course obtained by the Washington Examiner show that parental permission is not required for a student who wants to go by a “chosen name” in class, a student who wants to use the locker room that aligns with their “gender identity” and if a student requests to use a private restroom.
Students who go by a "chosen name" have several options in doing so. They can pick and choose which classes and instructors address them by their "chosen name." Students can go as far as changing their name on all school records. The school district would allow this without a legal name change.
Debra Tisler, a former Fairfax County teacher, told Fox News this week that the training is "tragic."
"Parent rights are being obstructed left and right by the school system, and they're using loopholes and laws to try and get around it," Tisler said on "America Reports."
In April, I reported for Townhall how parents in Massachusetts alleged that their school district was carrying out secret gender transitions for their children. Allegedly, a teacher in the district was placed on leave for forwarding an email from a student saying she was “queergender” to her parents.
Another set of parents claimed that they “are deliberately hindered from ascertaining whether their children are being secretly counseled about and affirmed in discordant gender identities without their knowledge or consent” at school.
Last year, in the Virginia gubernatorial debate, Youngkin said that he believed parents should be in charge of their children’s education. His opponent, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), said “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” Youngkin defeated McAuliffe in the election.
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