Calabia said that the Pride Liberation Project is pushing for the immediate reinstatement of the 2021 Model Policies, which protected trans students from discrimination and harassment, allowed trans students to self-identify in their school records, shielded student privacy, and allowed trans students to participate in the appropriate gender-segregated activities, like sports. In addition to that, Calabia advocated for further clauses that would allow students to self-determine their identities at school.
“The hard truth is, there are a lot of parents in this state who do not support their kids in a way their kids deserve,” Calabia said. “So giving them a chance to be themselves at school, it’s quite literally life-saving.”
In response to the walkouts, Macaulay Porter, a spokesperson for Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, told NBC News that “parents should be a part of their children’s lives, and it’s apparent through the public protests and on-camera interviews that those objecting to the guidance already have their parents as part of that conversation.”
“While students exercise their free speech today, we’d note that these policies state that students should be treated with compassion and schools should be free from bullying and harassment,” Porter added.
Such empty reassurances did not hold any sway over the students of Virginia, however. The Pride Liberation Project plans to host rallies at school board meetings in counties across the state in the coming weeks, with Calabia adding that the goal is to “get our voices heard in whatever form we can.”
Ultimately, Calabia emphasized that the policies were not representative of the state of Virginia. “Obviously that doesn’t mean everyone — there have been some people who’ve spoken positively about it, but they’re very much a minority,” they said. “Virginia does not support the transgender 2022 model policies.”
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