001covering Spotsylvania County now in just about 30 minutes school board members will decide the future of its new school policy this will determine how trans students are treated under some new guidance from Governor Glenn Younkin our Matthew Torres is at that school board meeting right now Matthew do you have any insight at this point on how this is going to play out well Leslie right now we have parents going inside the building this meeting is actually going to start at 5 30 today but it is much later in the agenda so it'll be later this evening before board members will be talking about it and it will likely be a tense meeting tonight they will likely be talking about any illegal concerns if they do not adopt this policy and one board member tells me
002she is all about following the rules but has issues with this policy that could ultimately affect transgender students in a phone call to wsa9 Spotsylvania County Public Schools board member Don Shelley says she plans to abstain from voting her concern about the policy is making sure children including trans students are protected much like other Advocates throughout Northern Virginia kids are terrified and families are moving out of the state the policy lines up with new guidelines from Governor Glenn younkins Administration it says students will be referred to by the names on the record with pronouns according to their sex assigned at Birth a parent can issue written instructions otherwise kids would only play in sports based on their sex and not by gender identity and students cannot wear clothes in a general neutral manner human and
003civil rights were given to children and they have been taken away it's really dry it's up to you to be engaged as a parent at his recent parents matter event in Fredericksburg Governor Glenn Younkin says the model policies are meant to empower parents it's still unclear what will happen to school districts that are rejecting it but a spokesperson says since the Virginia Department of Education has fulfilled its responsibility to develop the model policy school boards are expected to follow the law our model policies are really straightforward which is to empower parents to have the ultimate decision in the say of their children to be engaged at the table they can't be excluded they must be included but school districts are openly against the model policies including Alexandria City public schools that's the same for Arlington
004public schools in Fairfax County officials say they already have policies in place that create inclusive learning for all students meanwhile in Loudoun County the policies are still under review this makes our schools so unmarked to snacks again that meeting starts at 5 30 and we have people going inside the building already some with posters this is lower in the agenda item and I say that because it might not be until 8 o'clock even nine o'clock tonight before board members will get to discuss this item and so like any other meetings that we've seen here in Spotsylvania County it could be a contentious one live in Spotsylvania County tonight Matthew Torres WUSA 9. I suppose the parents who are there are there for the duration so we'll hear back later this evening and see where this
005goes Matthew thank you