Education

Virginia School Board Approves Transgender Policy For Bathrooms And Locker Rooms

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A Virginia school board passed a policy on Tuesday that could allow biological males into the women’s restroom at schools, according to WWBT News.

The Hanover County School Board in Ashland, Virginia, approved a restroom and locker room policy in a 5-2 vote, which gives biological males access to the women’s bathroom, according to WWBT News. The policy allows students to file a request to the school in order for the student to access bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex.

The statement from the student and the parent must address how the student “consistently, persistently and insistently” has expressed their gender identity, the policy stated. The request must include a note from a medical professional diagnosing the student with gender dysphoria or at least acknowledging that the student is expressing a change in gender identity.

The district will consider students’ criminal record or disciplinary background when granting requests, the policy stated. Comments were made at the board meeting criticizing that aspect of the policy, WWBT News reported.

“As you may well know, we’ve had issues here with the recent football team,” Patricia Jordan of the Hanover County NAACP told the outlet. “They’re not asking for background checks on any of those players or anybody, but they want background checks on people who have done absolutely nothing and just want to be in school.”

When granting student access into the locker rooms based on gender identity, the policy advises the school board to consider students’ “state of undress in the facilities” and the physical design of the facilities. Requests are confidential and if denied, students and parents can continue to file requests if the student’s “circumstances materially change.”

In July, the school board approved construction plans for genderless bathrooms in the John M. Gandy Elementary School in Ashland, Virginia. The bathrooms, set to be constructed by 2024, will feature stall partitions reaching from the ground to the ceiling with sinks in the hallway.

The school board and the Hanover County School District did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.