“Children Do Not Belong To The State,” asserts Glenn Youngkin in defense of parental rights school policy. They Are Members Of Families.
Sunday, Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin defended the parents’ rights policy he enacted in the state.
Youngkin defended the new laws impacting transgender pupils on CNN’s “State of the Union,” which highlight parents’ rights in determining their child’s gender identification. Youngkin emphasized that parents have responsibility over their child’s upbringing and stated that the policy gives them more authority.
Youngkin stated, “Parents have a fundamental right to be involved in their children’s lives.” “And, by the way, children have the right to parental involvement in their lives. And we needed to right a wrong…children are not the property of the state. They are members of families. Therefore, the first step in making these crucial decisions must be to involve parents, not to the exclusion of a trusted teacher or advisor, but to ensure that parents are involved in their children’s life.
Additionally, the governor stated that his policy would provide allowances for pupils whose parents determined that identifying them by their trans identity was in their best interest.
Youngkin stated, “We are not claiming that there are no accommodations.” “What we’re arguing is that parents must participate in this decision. And if a child’s parent, along with administrators and instructors, decides for that child to have accommodations, they will be granted.”
“If parents truly want their child to be able to alter a pronoun or name or use a bathroom, if parents select that, then legally that is what schools will do,” he continued.
Youngkin emphasized that the approach would exclude biological males from girls’ sports.
“I believe that it is unfair for biological girls to play sports alongside biological guys. There are sports in which the genders are segregated. These sports should be celebrated in this manner… Again, this is approached with common sense. And I believe we must respect women here as well.”
Youngkin introduced the new policy in September after the Virginia legislature passed a law in 2020 requiring public schools to adopt policies consistent with Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students, a document created by the administration of former Democratic Governor Ralph Northam. The administration of Youngkin revised the policy recommendations in the document, placing a far greater focus on parental rights and participation, particularly in relation to their child’s gender identification.