Lawsuits ask courts to overturn Virginia's new policies on the treatment of transgender students

The ACLU of Virginia is suing the state Department of Education to challenge Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s policies on the treatment of transgender students

RICHMOND, Va. -- The ACLU of Virginia filed two lawsuits against the state Department of Education on Thursday, asking the courts to throw out Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s policies on the treatment of transgender students and rule that school districts are not required to follow them.

Youngkin's policies roll back many accommodations for transgender students urged by the previous Democratic administration, including allowing teachers and students to refer to a transgender student by the name and pronouns associated with their sex assigned at birth. They also call for school systems’ sports teams to be organized by the sex assigned at birth, meaning that transgender girls would be unable to participate on girls’ sports teams.

The legal challenges in Virginia come at a time when a wave of new restrictions on transgender and nonbinary students have been put in place in Republican states. At least 10 states have enacted laws prohibiting or restricting students from using pronouns or names that don't match their sex assigned at birth.

Youngkin has said the new policies in Virginia are aimed at giving parents a greater say in how their children are treated at school. But opponents argue that the policies violate the law by codifying discrimination against transgender students.

The lawsuits were filed on behalf of two transgender students: one, a high school student in York County, the other, a middle school student in Hanover County. The students are not named in the lawsuits.