Youngkin Scrambles as Schools Reject His Anti-Trans and Anti-LGBT Policies

With the entire Virginia General Assembly up for election this November and in light of his presidential ambitions, Glenn Youngkin is continuing the charade that he is a "moderate" and is pushing his deceptive "parent's rights" agenda.  The only parental rights that Youngkin truly cares about are those of Christofascists who follow the dictates of The Family Foundation, Virginia's leading anti-LGBT hate group whose roots trace back to the "Massive Resistance" movement that opposed desegregation. Hence Youngkin's first executive order barring "divisive topics"  - namely an accurate portrayal of Virginia's true history and acknowledgement that LGBT individuals exist - which has been followed by the Youngkin/The Family Foundation policies on LGBT and transgender students that (i) treat children as the chattel property of their parents and (ii) ignore the fact that the biggest danger to many LGBT students are their "Christian" extremist parents.  With the November elections heating up, Youngkin is faced with a revolt by a number of Virginia's largest school divisions (e.g., Fairfax County, Virginia Beach) which are either refusing to adopt the anti-LGBT policies or insisting on modifications to ensure LGBT students are protected.  A piece in The Advocate looks at Youngin's effort to appease his masters at The Family Foundation in the face of the rejection of his bigoted and dangerous policies.  Here are excerpts:

As the school year begins anew in Virginia, many districts around the state are rejecting Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s new school policies that advocates say discriminate against transgender students. His administration is scrambling to find ways to compel school districts to adopt these controversial new policies.

During a Fox News interview on Monday, Youngkin criticized schools that aren’t adopting his administration’s controversial “Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools” for transgender students, stating that “it is the law and they don’t have a choice.”

Appearing on “The Story with Martha MacCallum,” Youngkin griped how many districts around the commonwealth are considering or have chosen to forego implementing the 2023 policies that have been in the works since last September and were finalized in July.

The policies require students to use bathrooms and locker rooms according to their assigned sex at birth. They also require that all parents provide written permission to the school if a student wishes to use a name or pronoun that differs from their official records. Furthermore, schools must disclose to parents if students share information regarding their sexual orientation or gender identity with school staff.

The Advocate spoke with Niko, a transgender teen who goes to school in Arlington.

Niko made headlines for calling out Gov. Youngkin on his transgender model policies for trans students at a CNN town hall event in March. Youngkin appeared stumped when Niko asked which bathroom Youngkin thought the teen should use.

“I think it shows that he’s grasping at straws,” Niko said. “Youngkin doesn’t have a lot to stand on right now. I think that this is a topic that is firing people up right now, and so it’s something that he’s able to rely on.”

The district where Niko goes to school has rejected Younkin’s new policies.

Superintendent of Arlington Public Schools, Francisco Durán, toldThe Advocate recently that he believes that his district’s current policies align with Virginia law and that he would not implement the governor’s discriminatory new guidelines.

“It’s very important for me to make the statement because when the model policies came out, many of our families, our staff, and our students were very concerned with what they meant for them,” he said. “As the superintendent of all students, regardless of their background, it’s my responsibility to ensure we provide a welcoming, safe environment for them.”

On Thursday, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares gave his opinion regarding new guidelines the Virginia Department of Education set forth regarding transgender and nonbinary students.

As part of a release issued by the attorney general’s office on Thursday, Miyares said the new guidance “complies with federal and state nondiscrimination laws,” adding that “the model policies comply with the Equal Protection Clause, Title IX, and the Virginia Human Rights Act,” noting “local school boards are required to adopt policies that are consistent with them.”

An opinion on the guidelines was released “at the request of Governor Glenn Youngkin,” who expressed support for the guidelines, saying that children should “trust your parents,” Miyares said.

The opinion stated that under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, parents have “a fundamental right to direct the upbringing and education of their children.”

Virginia voters need to vote against Republican candidates and realize that if the GOP gains control of the General Assembly, Virginia will quickly become a carbon copy of DeSantis' Florida with abortion banned, black history erased, and LGBT individuals subject to a Christofascist jihad. .  Virginians deserve better than that.