{"id":1653777,"date":"2022-09-22T16:22:48","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T20:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1653777"},"modified":"2022-09-22T16:22:56","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T20:22:56","slug":"mary-vought-virginias-new-school-guidance-protects-parental-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mary-vought-virginias-new-school-guidance-protects-parental-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary Vought: Virginia\u2019s New School Guidance Protects Parental Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmary-vought-virginias-new-school-guidance-protects-parental-rights%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1653777&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20220922200835im_\/https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-apps\/imrs.php?src=https:\/\/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/HRZXREBKHAI63KIK7TSACXP4R4.jpg&amp;w=1440\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"wpds-c-grBDNq hide-for-print mb-sm undefined\">\n<div class=\"PJLV PJLV-iAjpuP-css flex items-center\" data-qa=\"article-actions\">\n<div class=\"wpds-c-fLphcs\"><button class=\"wpds-c-jmLDag wpds-c-jmLDag-bywHgD-variant-primary wpds-c-jmLDag-biynoz-density-compact wpds-c-jmLDag-hZSyid-isOutline-true wpds-c-jmLDag-ejCoEP-icon-left wpds-c-jmLDag-futxca-cv wpds-c-jmLDag-idfUoCd-css\"><\/p>\n<p>Listen<\/p>\n<p>4 min<\/p>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<div class=\"wpds-c-fLphcs\"><button class=\"wpds-c-jmLDag wpds-c-jmLDag-bywHgD-variant-primary wpds-c-jmLDag-biynoz-density-compact wpds-c-jmLDag-hZSyid-isOutline-true wpds-c-jmLDag-ejCoEP-icon-left wpds-c-jmLDag-futxca-cv wpds-c-jmLDag-ihhnWqF-css\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"PJLV PJLV-igcOMTV-css\">Comment on this story<\/div>\n<p>Comment<\/p>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<div class=\"wpds-c-fLphcs\"><button class=\"wpds-c-jmLDag wpds-c-jmLDag-bywHgD-variant-primary wpds-c-jmLDag-biynoz-density-compact wpds-c-jmLDag-hZSyid-isOutline-true wpds-c-jmLDag-ejCoEP-icon-left wpds-c-jmLDag-futxca-cv wpds-c-jmLDag-ihhnWqF-css\"><\/p>\n<p>Gift <span class=\"PJLV PJLV-ikqOWxF-css\">Article<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"teaser-content grid-center\">\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\"><i>Mary Vought is the founder of Vought Strategies and a visiting fellow at Independent Women\u2019s Forum.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Recent guidance for Virginia public school districts released by the administration of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) represents a victory for parents. Some on the left have already attacked the guidance as being hateful and transphobic. But as a parent whose two daughters attend Virginia schools, I applaud Youngkin\u2019s actions as a welcome breath of common sense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Those who would criticize the new Virginia guidance should first<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20220922200835\/https:\/\/doe.virginia.gov\/support\/gender-diversity\/2022-model-policies-on-the-privacy-dignity-and-respect-for-all-students-town-hall.pdf\"> read the document<\/a>. It lists as its first guiding principle a statement all Virginians should support: \u201cParents have the right to make decisions with respect to their children.\u201d Too often in recent years, progressives have overridden those parental rights, encouraging students to \u201ctransition\u201d genders without consulting or informing their rightful legal guardians.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<div class=\"cb dn db-ns\" data-qa=\"article-body-ad\">\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"hide-for-print relative flex justify-center content-box items-center b bh mb-md mt-none pt-lg pb-lg\">\n<div data-testid=\"placeholder-box\" class=\"w-100 h-100 absolute flex flex-column justify-center border-box bg-offwhite\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-column justify-center font-sans-serif center font-xxs light gray-dark lh-md\">\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Youngkin\u2019s opponent in last fall\u2019s gubernatorial election, Democrat Terry McAuliffe, admitted this paternalistic attitude when he<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20220922200835\/https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MCBcJC8bIq8\"> claimed in a debate<\/a> about books in schools that \u201cI don\u2019t think parents should be telling their schools what they should teach.\u201d To the left, children exist primarily as wards of the state \u2014 ones that government officials can teach, or indoctrinate, as they wish \u2014 rather than the responsibility of the parents who brought them into the world and in almost all cases care more for them than anyone else, bureaucrats included.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-el=\"text\" class=\"font--article-body font-copy gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">The Youngkin guidance correctly overturns this woke ideology and restores parental rights to their proper place. Principles such as \u201cschools shall defer to parents to make the best decisions with respect to their children\u201d and \u201cschools shall keep parents informed about their children\u2019s well-being\u201d make perfect sense to the vast majority of Virginians. Rather than allowing students to \u201cchange\u201d genders behind their parents\u2019 backs, the guidance places those household conversations where they belong: at home, within a family unit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">The guidance doesn\u2019t just restore the rights of parents; it also restores constitutional principles. The document notes that \u201cthe First Amendment forbids government actors to require individuals to adhere to or adopt any particular ideological beliefs.\u201d Ironically, the same progressives who cited the Constitution to prohibit mandatory prayer in schools and permit students to opt out of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance now want to force teachers, administrators and students to use a student\u2019s \u201cpreferred pronouns,\u201d even if doing so would violate those individuals\u2019 sincerely held religious beliefs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<div class=\"cb dn db-ns\" data-qa=\"article-body-ad\">\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"hide-for-print relative flex justify-center content-box items-center b bh mb-md mt-none pt-lg pb-lg\">\n<div data-testid=\"placeholder-box\" class=\"w-100 h-100 absolute flex flex-column justify-center border-box bg-offwhite\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-column justify-center font-sans-serif center font-xxs light gray-dark lh-md\">\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">The new policies reflect a proper balance that considers parental rights and constitutional obligations. Virginia school district employees can use a student\u2019s preferred pronouns, provided they have the explicit consent of a parent to do so. However, in no case can a district \u201ccompel \u2026 personnel or other students to address or refer to students in any manner that would violate their constitutionally protected rights.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Finally, the Youngkin guidance provides a victory for women and girls, by directing that \u201cfor any athletic program or activity that is separated by sex, the appropriate participation of students shall be determined by sex\u201d as assigned at birth. This provision will ensure that individuals born male cannot compete in women\u2019s sports because of the inherent physical advantages (size, strength, etc.) that their sex at birth provides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Virginia schools can and should provide a welcoming environment to all students, regardless of race, creed or gender. Prior administrations acted in ways that undermined parental rights, constitutional protections and the conscience beliefs of others. In issuing its new guidance, the Youngkin administration has restored the proper balance where it belongs. I applaud him for his actions, and other Virginia parents should do so as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex mt-md\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg-mod ml-sm\"><button class=\"inline-flex items-center justify-center lh-md overflow-hidden border-box min-w-btn transition-colors duration-200 ease-in-out font-sans-serif font-bold antialiased bg-white hover-bg-gray-lighter focus-bg-gray-lighter offblack b-solid bw bc-gray-light hover-bc-gray-light focus-bc-gray-darkest-alpha-50 gift-share hide-for-print brad-lg pl-md pr-md h-md pt-0 pb-0 pointer\" aria-haspopup=\"true\" id=\"gift-share-shortcut\" data-qa=\"gift-share-shortcut\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex justify-center h-100 items-center\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center mr-xs\">GiftOutline<\/div>\n<p>Gift Article<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"b bt bc-offblack dn-ns hide-for-print\" data-testid=\"mostRead\"><\/section>\n<div class=\"b bh mb-lg-mod pt-lg pb-lg hide-for-print\">\n<div data-qa=\"newsletter\" class=\"hide-for-print relative\">\n<div class=\"dib w-100\">\n<div>\n<p>Loading&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen4 minComment on this storyCommentGift ArticleMary Vought is the founder of Vought Strategies and a visiting fellow at Independent Women\u2019s Forum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1653777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1653777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1653777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1653777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1653777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1653777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1653777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}