Exclusive: Youngkin says 'biological boys' should not play sports with 'biological girls'

ANNANDALE, Va. (7News) — During his back-to-school rally in Fairfax County, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin blasted Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) transgender and gender expansive student policy, called Regulation 2603.

“They think that parents have no right to know what your child is discussing with their teacher or their counselor, particularly when some of the most important topics, most important topics that a child may want to discuss are being determined,” Youngkin said on Wednesday at a “Parents Matter” rally. “What's their name? What pronoun will they use? How are they going to express their gender? This is a decision that bureaucrats in Fairfax County believe that they should be able to make without telling parents.”

FCPS’s policy does not require parental permission for what pronouns students use, parental permission is not required for gender transitions, nor is parental permission required for what bathrooms students use. Loudoun County Public Schools has a similar policy.

“What I'm continually surprised by is really the approach that would push parents out of any decision that's material in their child's life and to write a regulation for a school that says don't tell parents is just wrong,” Youngkin told 7News Reporter Nick Minock.

FCPS’s policy also allows students to choose which locker rooms they use and FCPS’s policy allows students to participate in sports in accordance with their chosen gender identity.

“And in fact, in Virginia code, says parents have a fundamental right to make decisions with regards to their child's education, upbringing in care, and I don't know any topic you just discussed that isn't in that category, and therefore they're required to speak to parents,” Youngkin told 7News Reporter Minock. “And I find this whole discussion of where school systems and particularly this one is led by progressive liberals trying to push parents out of their children's lives is something that the voters spoke loudly on last year. And I think they're going to speak loudly on it again and again and again until they're fully engaged in their children's lives.”

“And it's what we went to work on day one, which is to empower parents, it was my second executive order to reaffirm parent's rights in these most important decisions,” Youngkin told 7News. “And therefore, I think Loudoun County and Fairfax County need to go back and get the memo. The memo was parents' matter. And you better involve parents in this because that's the law.”

READ ALSO: 'Parental participation is not required': Youngkin slams FCPS policy on gender transitions

“I think second of all, the idea that these particular decisions with regards to children who are really trying to make some very tough decisions in their lives, first are going to exclude parents, and then second of all are going to rely on folks that may not share the family's values in those decisions, I just think this is just fundamentally wrong,” Youngkin told 7News' Minock. “We need to meet every child where they are. We need to respect every child, we need to love every child and understand the difficulties of these decisions. And how in the world could you not involve parents in that process? Finally, I don't think that biological boys should be playing sports with biological girls. I don't think that locker rooms should be locker rooms where a child can choose which one to go into.”

FCPS says they are trying to provide students an equitable, safe and supportive school environment. And in a guidance document, FCPS says they developed some of the policies due to state law.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares told 7News that FCPS and LCPS are going beyond what is required by law.

“I think it does,” Miyares told 7News. “I think it's cutting parents out. I think it's clear from the election and what we've seen in Virginia is parents matter. I think that maybe their interpretation is not accurate. Parents have a fundamental right to the educational upbringing of their children, and that includes the big decisions that you just mentioned, that parents should be involved and that I think is what's bringing so much frustration - why there's an energy among parents in Northern Virginia is they feel like they're being cut out. They feel like there are school administrators that are cutting parents out of the decision. And parents want to be part, obviously, of those decisions. And so we want to empower parents. School administrators don't want to empower parents. I'm going to side with the parents on this one.”

Since Sunday, 7News has asked FCPS for comment on Youngkin’s criticism of Regulation 2603. FCPS has not returned 7News’s request for comment.