Dinwiddie County School District
Why is My County Rated Red?
The Family Foundation uses these three policies as a gauge for whether schools are safe for students and staff.
VDOE – Virginia Department of Education’s Model Policies for “The Treatment of Transgender Students” is a 27-page document with sample policies for school boards to adopt either in whole or to model after. Dinwiddie County passed Policy 8040, a policy modeled after VDOE’s.
VSBA – Virginia School Board Association’s Spring or Summer Updates that add Va. Code §22.1-23.3 (Treatment of transgender students; policies) to various school policies’ legal reference including but not limited to non-discrimination, student records, educational philosophy, etc. Dinwiddie County did not adopt these policy updates.
SOGI – “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as a protected class in non-discrimination and/or anti-harassment policies. Dinwiddie County has SOGI in their equal opportunity policy (1040)
Policy 8040 and Regulation 8040 can be found here
Will this policy compel speech regarding pronouns?
Yes. Policy 8040 has clear language that mandates compelled speech regarding a student’s “chosen pronouns and name”. Punishment for staff and students is not spelled out. “School staff shall, at the request of a student or parent/legal guardian, when using a name or pronoun to address the student, use the name and pronoun that correspond to their consistently asserted gender identity.” And, “staff or students who intentionally and persistently refuse to respect a student’s gender identity by using the wrong name and gender pronoun are in violation of this policy.”
Will this policy allow students to use the bathroom of their choice?
Yes. Policy and Regulation 8040 both make clear that students may use whichever bathroom they choose. “Students should be allowed to use the facility that corresponds to their consistently asserted gender identity.”
Will this policy allow schools to deceive parents about a student’s “transgender status”?
This is not written as clearly, though heavily implied in Regulation 8040. See, “in the situation when a parent or legal guardian of a minor does not agree with a student’s request to use their chosen name and gender pronouns…staff will discuss and may develop an alternative that respects both the student and the parent…”