Virginia Del. John Avoli wants to restrict transgender students' access to the proper bathrooms and prevent certain teachings dealing with race.
Avoili, a former teacher, also wants parents to be able to opt out of any educational lessons with which they don’t agree.
He introduced a divisive, wide-ranging bill that touched on many issues that have led to contentious school board meetings across the state over the last year. It lines up with the more extreme positions adopted by Republicans in recent years in Virginia. Itfollows the direction that many far-right members of the General Assembly have taken now that Republican Glenn Younkgin is governor.
The next step is for it to go to an education subcommittee.
Avoli, a Republican from Staunton, represents the 20th district that includes Staunton, Waynesboro, Highland Countyand parts of Augusta and Nelson counties. The former mayor of Staunton is the vice-chairperson of the education committee and chairperson of the education committee for K-12.
He is also a former school administrator in Augusta County.
Avoli’s legislation would both amend existing law as well as add sections to the Code of Virginia.
House Bill 1126 would force students and school staff to use restrooms and locker rooms shared only by members of the same biological sex. It says a single-user restroom and locker room should be accessible by requestonly if the school can “reasonably accommodate such a request.”
AnhThu Nguyen, the executive director of the Shenandoah LGBTQ Center in Staunton, wasn't surprised, but was disappointed in the wording of the bill. Shesaid that wording is in direct opposition to the model policies that the Virginia Department of Education has put forth.
“It is established that when these policies as written by the VDOE are implemented in school systems, trans students feel best affirmed and supported and seen during a really formative time of their lives,” Nguyen said. “They deserve these protections and the bill put forth by Del. Avoli undermine these protections directly.”
There are questions whether Avoli’s bill is legal.
In June, the United States Supreme Court declined to take a case regarding whether schools can keep students from using the bathroom reflecting their gender identity. Gavin Grimm, a transgender male, was denied access to the boys' bathroom and filed suit in 2015 against Gloucester County in Virginia.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found in favor of Grimm, saying the school’s policy discriminated against him. The court hears appeals from the nine federal district courts in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolinaand South Carolina.
By not taking up the case, the Supreme Court allowed the 4th Circuit's decision to stand.
Nguyen said one goal of the Shenandoah LGBTQ Center is to help the community stay informed and she encourages community members tocontact their representatives to voice their concerns.
"What these bills are directed toward is really lessening protections for trans students," Nguyen said. "We know that when trans youth don't feel safe at school and are subject to harassment that results in higher rates of depression and anxiety and alcohol and drug use and lower self-esteem."
She said that impact is seen in academic achievement, resulting in lower grades and higher dropout rates.
"From a community perspective and a Center perspective, that is clearly unacceptable and also entirelypreventable," Nguyen said. "Language like these bills really is concerning."
Avoli’s bill also would prevent schools from teaching any concept that the United States is fundamentally racist or that “any individual is racist, privileged, oppressive, biasedor responsible for actions committed by others of the same race.”
Avoli said he’s in favor of teaching about the "contributions" of all races and ethnic groups. Then he paused before bringing up another topic that has been criticized by many in the far-right GOP movement even though there is no evidence it’s being taught in public schools in Virginia.
“To come in and put this Critical Race Theorysituation, it’s absurd,” Avoli said. “It becomes divisive. I’m not a racist. I’ve never been in my life, but because I’m white, you’re telling me I’m a racist.”
Avoli is using a trope that many on the far right have used tocriticize Critical Race Theory — that it teaches white students that they are racist.
That is false.
That is notwhat CRT teaches.
It's not a course that is taught by schools, but more a framework for teaching that many laws and regulations in the United States are rooted in racism. CRT examines how racism has become embedded in many social institutions.
Mostly the teachings that come from CRT are seen at higher levels of education, in both undergraduate and graduate course level work in colleges.
Diana Williams is the chairperson for the Waynesboro School Board. In September, during a school board meeting, a community member criticized CRT, prompting Williams to ask the speaker to define the term.
The speaker said that it is "teaching kids how to judge each other by skin color. White are the oppressors. Black are the oppressed.”
Again, that is not what CRT teaches.
Last week, when asked about Avoli’s bill, Williams wondered how many more times can school divisions explain that they don’t teach and have never taught CRT and they especially don’t teach that being white makes someone a racist.
“Sometimes I feel like there are certain people who think that, if I say something enough eventually it will become true,” Williams said. “And I don’t know how to deal with that.”
Williams said this makes her “sad” because when it comes to CRT, she feels we are rehashing topics that have already been discussed too much.
“Meanwhile, I feel like democracy is dying and I’ve got to sit here and talk about this thing that’s not a thing,” she said. “I feel like the world is on fire and I’m sitting here talking about unicorns.”
Williams’s feelings could also apply to another section of Avoli’s bill — so-called parental rights. The bill wants to guarantee that parents can review any educational material used in classrooms and opt their child out of any class or lesson to which they object.
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“If parents are objecting to certain books that are being delivered in a school curriculum," Avoli said, "I think they have a right to say, ‘Mr. School Principal or Mr. Superintendent, I object to this book, but I do not object to this one. Give me an alternative.'”
Asked if it was important to expose students to something that may challenge the way they think about a certain topic,Avoli initially agreed with that, before saying that he feels many students are just too young to comprehend that kind of teaching.
“That’s why you have colleges and universities,” Avoli said. “I think since my kid is under my control (under) the age of 18, that I as a parent should have a right to object to some of these things that are going on.”
Williams has read and reread the text of Avoli’s bill.
“There is so much going on in here,” she said. “There are so many different ways to interpret it. Quite frankly, I’m still having moments where I’m not really sure what happened, especially considering that Del.Avoli spent a good portion of his career in public education.”
She said a lot of the parental rights part of the bill is in response to misinformation spread throughout the community.
Much of what is in Avoli’s legislation is already being done in schools. Williams said parents already have the right to review educational materials, ask questions about the curriculum and opt children out of anything with which they’re not comfortable.
“These things aren’t being kept from parents,” Williams said. “I think they just don’t know because they’re getting their information from sources that might not be concerned with accuracy.”
Patrick Hite is The News Leader's education and sports reporter. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) atphite@newsleader.comand follow himon Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to usat newsleader.com.
