Since the Aug 11 LCPS School Board meeting, Policy 8040 has been enacted in schools. The protections it allows started at the state level with the Virginia Department of Education; they worked with all the school divisions in Virginia to try and make their schools a safe and welcoming place for transgender and gender-expansive students. In the official policy, it is stated that, ‘All students shall be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, or gender identity/expression.’ The policy at the state level is referred to as §22.1-23.3, which acts as  a model policy for all the school divisions in the state. 

Policy 8040 has not only impacted myself, but also has impacted many other transgender students within the county. The most-known changes are that teachers and staff now have to respect a students preferred name and pronouns. 

School guidance counselors have done a great job at connecting with students to inform their teachers of their name and pronouns. When my guidance counselor, Amrita Khatta, heard that I used a different name and pronoun than what’s written in StudentVue, she set up a meeting quickly. She confirmed what name and pronouns I use for myself and whether or not it’s safe to use that name and pronouns with my mom. From there, she prepared an email to send out to all my teachers.

Even though teachers and staff respect my name and pronouns, StudentVue is still a work in progress. My name is listed under ‘Preferred First Name’ on the website. This language is tricky because it is not preferred, but is the name that should always be used; it is my first name. This paragraph was written before this got changed. Now StudentVue lists my full name under the ‘Name’ section.

According to LoudounNow, “68% of transgender students in Virginia were prohibited from using the bathroom that aligned with their gender identity [in 2019].” As a result of Policy 8040, LCPS schools have been mandated to have all-gender bathrooms. At our school, we have several all-gender bathrooms that are evenly spaced out. They can be used as a safe-space for transgender students to use the bathroom; it is a gender-inclusive bathroom that anybody is allowed to use, which also prevents students from being outed.

Freshman Bo Lucas is a transgender male that uses he/they pronouns. He appreciates the new bathrooms. “I think the all-gender bathrooms are a really good idea, especially having them only [allowing] one person at a time,” he said.

There are still other students that misgender and deadname students even though they are well aware of the changes. Junior Lee Morales, who is transgender and uses he/they pronouns, finds that some students still slip up with using his pronouns. “For [respecting] my name, it’s been okay; pronouns-wise, not a lot of people respect them,” he said.

Bigger efforts must be made to teach students about the changes and that they have to respect them. A presentation during advisory, for example, could talk about the basics, like reasons why people might change their name, how pronouns don’t always equal gender, and how gender dysphoria can affect people. It’s vital that students get informed on this, because not many students  know how much gender dysphoria can affect a person.  

Gender dysphoria is mental discomfort when you don’t feel like the gender you are, differing from your gender assigned at birth. It is important to remember that many people have different definitions for gender dysphoria, and it can lead to many difficult feelings.  There are many things that can lead to gender dysphoria, big and small, whether it’s accidentally misgendering someone or slipping up and deadnaming them.

A helpful place to start researching is The Trevor Project, specifically their page on gender identity. The Trevor Project is a non-profit that operates a teen-lifeline number to call when struggling with gender-identity and/or mental health. They also aim to educate on these topics which can be found on their website. Additionally, the Human Rights Campaign offers many outstanding articles, not just about the lgbtq+ but also about elections, laws, poc, etc. Like The Trevor Project, the Human Rights Campaign has a goal to inform and also create equality.

Between respecting names and pronouns and the new bathrooms, the student body and school are still adjusting to the actions called for in Policy 8040. Advisory lessons for these topics could potentially help people understand and navigate the changes. The main goal is that the schools will finally be a fully all-inclusive environment.