I read the recent guidelines from Governor Youngkin’s office regarding transgender students, parental rights, etc. It was interesting reading, but this paragraph stood out:

“Schools shall respect parents’ values and beliefs: Parents have the right to instill
in and nurture values and beliefs for their own children and make decisions
concerning their children’s education and upbringing in accordance with their
customs, faith, and family culture.”

Agree 100%. Parents should consistently and actively “… nurture values and beliefs for their own children.” That makes perfect sense to me, but what has never made sense to me is the FACT that, although parents come from all walks of life, often have vastly different ideas about how to raise children, worship differently, and have very different opinions about how best to educate kids, we still sometimes think that we are entitled to make choices involving other peoples children. We simply do not have the right to do that.

As school leaders, we are obligated to protect the rights of all kids and insure that schools are safe places for all. When the rules change from election to election, we pivot and adjust…but it is so very difficult to make those adjustments and still insure that ALL kids are have their rights protected and are shown the respect they deserve. We will most certainly do our best, but it won’t be easy primarily because we have so much diversity of thought regarding with is and isn’t appropriate.