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The Suffolk Public School Board adopted amendments to the Transgender Policy in a 4-3 vote during the meeting on May 22. Board members Karen Jenkins, Tyron Riddick, and Valerie Fields voted against the policy changes.

The proposed amendments were first brought to the Board during the April 10 meeting. Chair Heather Howell stated that the changes are to better align the policy with Governor Glenn Youngkin’s mandate issued in 2023.

The new policy amendments include reducing the number of transgender-related definitions from 12 to three, increasing parental oversight, mandating the use of birth certificate pronouns, and specifying that athletics and bathroom use must correspond to sex, not gender.

Superintendent John B. Gordon III said, “Students’ rights are not in this policy at all.” 

In an email, Board member Kimberly Slingluff, who is also chair of the policy review committee, wrote, “both parental rights and student rights were considered during the creation of this policy. As indicated by the vote of approval for the new policy, the majority of the board strongly believes that a parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care and well being of their children. Upholding parental rights affirms the student, not only by ensuring the student’s right to education, fair treatment, and safety, but also by upholding the student’s right to freedom of religion, speech and expression within the bounds of school policy and law.”

The policy was discussed minimally during last week’s meeting, and no discussion surrounding the policy changes has occurred at any prior meetings since it was first introduced.

Slingluff said she did have conversations about the policy with other Board members, but no questions were directly sent to her to be considered by the policy review committee. 

During the May 22 meeting, Riddick asked why letter I was struck from the new policy, which stipulates that “all school mental health professionals will be trained annually on topics relating to LQBTQ+ students, including safety and support for LGBTQ+ students and health and mental wellness support to, and safety of, all students.” The old policy went on to list specific training topics.

He requested that section remain in the new policy.

Board Attorney Wendell Waller said this part was removed because it was not in the model policy from the Virginia Department of Education.

“What the committee was seeking to do,” he said, “was to mirror the model policy with what you now have in front of you.”

Riddick asked how school staff are expected to support LGBTQ+ students if their annual training is taken away.

Jenkins said she does not support the new policy because of those reasons as well.

“I do work in that field so I want to make sure that everyone, regardless of their choice of whatever, have the right to be heard,” she said. “I’m not taking anything away from parents’ rights … I think we should make sure that every student is protected in every way and they have a safe place that they feel safe that they can talk to someone, because it could be a matter of life and death.” 

Gordon said school counselors will still be able to have LGBTQ+ conversations with students and parents, and he wants to have someone available for students to talk to about gender identity.

He added mental health training will still occur, but the process will be different now. 

“It’s going to be a challenge, in our professional opinion,” Gordon said, “when it comes to preserving the students’ rights, when it comes to these potential changes.”

With many phrases such as “unless such disclosure would pose a danger to the student’s health and mental wellness” excluded in the new policy regarding reporting gender identity information to parents, Slingluff wrote that “student safety is a top priority of Suffolk Public Schools.”

She added that all SPS employees are mandated reporters, meaning they are required by state law to report any concerns of abuse or neglect to the local department of social services or to the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline.