Youngkin’s education guidance puts parents back at the forefront of their children’s upbringing

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) released final guidance this week on how public schools are to handle the matter of transgenderism, with the expressed goal being the restoration of parents as the primary source of authority and responsibility for their children’s well-being.

The guidance, which all state-funded schools are required to adopt, directs schools to abide by the names and pronouns listed on students’ official records unless parents submit a written request asking otherwise. Schools are also expected to make sure students participate in the athletic program and use the restroom, locker room, or other facility that correspond with their sex. Once again, parents are granted an “opt-out” option if they want their child to have access to a separate facility, such as a single-user restroom.

Importantly, the guidance also prohibits schools from concealing information about students’ well-being from parents. School policies that encourage teachers to hide a student’s gender confusion, for example, are now forbidden. And schools must give parents the final say over whether their child is offered counseling services regarding their sex.

These guidelines accomplish two things: They protect parents’ right to make decisions for their children, and they ensure that children do not become ideological guinea pigs for school officials and activists.

“All children in Virginia deserve to have a parent engaged in their life and to be treated with dignity and respect. The [Virginia Department of Education’s] updated model policies reaffirm my administration’s continued commitment to ensure that every parent is involved in conversations regarding their child’s education, upbringing, and care,” Youngkin said in a statement.

The question now is how Youngkin’s administration plans to enforce these rules. Several liberal school districts, including Richmond and Alexandria, have publicly vowed not to adhere to them and instead “continue the previously adopted policy and practice respecting individual rights and protecting students from discrimination due to gender expression, gender identity, sexual harassment, and transgender status.”

When asked last year how the administration plans to deal with this opposition, Youngkin and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares simply said they expect school districts to comply.

“It’s the law, and so I don’t really have a lot of patience for folks that see a law and don’t comply with it,” Youngkin said in September. “Protecting parents’ fundamental rights to make decisions for their children is in the Virginia code, and I fully expect that each one of the school divisions should comply.”

Youngkin owes Virginia’s families better assurance than that. For years, they’ve dealt with an education cabal determined to strip them of their rights. Regaining control of a defiant system that has forgotten its purpose will require swift, stringent correction. Let’s hope Youngkin’s team provides it.