Virginia High School Students Walkout In Protest Of Governor Youngkin’s School Transgender Policy, Photos From West Potomac High School

Students across Virginia walked out of class on Tuesday to protest proposed policies that, if adopted by school districts, would tighten restrictions on transgender students. The Virginia Department of Education unveiled the 2022 Model Policies earlier this month, and, among other things, they would require schools to defer to parents about students names, nicknames and pronouns. The 2021 Model Policies, by contrast, recommended schools refer to students preferred identities without first asking parents. Photos shared by state Sen. Adam Ebbin show the protest at West Potomac High School in Fairfax County. The walkouts were organized by the student-led Pride Liberation Project, a Virginia-based LGBTQIA+ advocacy group. “Incredible show of opposition to Gov Youngkins cruel anti-trans student proposal at 80-90 student walkouts across the state,” Ebbin, a Democrat, tweeted alongside the photos. The rules proposed by the administration of Republican Gov. Glen Youngkin would require parents to request in writing that a school use a name or pronouns not indicated by their official records. “Every student wants to tell their parents about themselves. The reason so many can’t is because if they do, they’ll be subjected to abuse and homelessness,” the Pride Liberation Project tweeted Tuesday. A 30-day public comment period on the proposed policies opened on Monday.