Spotsylvania County school board considers new transgender student policy

SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. — The Spotsylvania County school board will consider adopting a new policy for transgender students on Monday. This follows new guidelines issued by the Virginia Department of Education. Those policies took effect in the Commonwealth last month.

The school board is expected to vote on the "Policy Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, And Respect For All Students" during its meeting Monday evening. The policy says students will be referred to by the names in their record, with pronouns according to their biological sex. A parent or guardian can issue written instructions otherwise.

The policy also says participation in sports will be determined by sex and not by gender or gender identity. 

When the so-called model policies went into effect in July, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued a statement, which said in part, "The VDOE updated model policies reaffirm my administration's continued commitment to ensure that every parent is involved in conversations regarding their child's education."

Advocates for the LGBTQIA+ community sharply criticized Gov. Youngkin. Equality Virginia says this is a dangerous and politically motivated decision that singles out transgender youth.

The Spotsylvania County school board will vote on the new policy at 5:30 p.m. We will update this story with more information and reaction after the vote is held.

This is a developing story. We are working to gather additional information. Stay with WUSA9 for the latest updates as they come in to our newsroom.