Study of Current

Transgender Policies
Katie Hale

Purpose

-House Bill 145 and Senate Bill 161

-VDOE created Model Policies for the

Treatment of Transgender Students in
Virginia’s Public Schools

-Schools had until start of 2021-2022

school year to implement policies

-Transgender rights are a “hot topic” in

education, but laws and policies take
precedence over personal opinions
Research and Design

-Self-education played a major role in the project

-Spoke with Dr. Shawn Hughes, Director of

School Counseling, for RCPS

-Compared policy and practice through

observation, interviews, and immersion within
many stakeholder groups

-Presented the project to my administration, the

co-chairs of the equity committee, and (soon)
the entire equity committee and superintendent

Leadership Work

-Researched transgender laws and policies and

other important related information

-Compared model policies and RCPS policies

-Compiled suggestions for how we can improve

upon our current policies and practices

-Surveyed LGBTQ+ students and staff from RCPS

-Attended equity committee meetings and LGBTQ+

related presentations

-Created helpful infographics for distribution

Final Products

Reflection

-Personal bias and empathy

are hard to turn off
-Where do you start when
researching policies?
-Small steps or changes can
yield big results
Thank you!