Youngkin Puts Virginia Schools on Notice for Refusing to Follow New Transgender Rules

Defiant school districts have been ordered to comply after several districts balked at the new policies.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, here speaking in Smithfield, Va., in October 2022, is not on the commonwealth's 2023 ballot but his lobbying for a 15-week abortion ban puts him and abortion on voters' minds as they go to the polls in November in what is beiung called "the first election of 2024." Alex Wong/Getty Images

Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has put defiant school districts on notice, ordering them comply with a new transgender policy framework that includes requiring students to use bathrooms matching their birth sex, after several districts balked at the new model policies.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) recently issued new model policies (pdf) regarding transgender students, which roll back some accommodations and give parents more of a say.