Two parents have sued the Virginia Beach School Board to force it to implement Republican Governor. Glenn Youngkin has transgender policies which require teachers to address students using their pronouns, birth names, and gender.

According to Forbes, the lawsuit was filed by two mothers last week. It alleges that the school board has violated Virginia laws for not adopting policies in line with those of the state and for “ignorant the rights of Virginian parents to make basic choices about their children’s education and well-being.”

The lawsuit takes issue with district policies that “threaten anyone with punishment for refusing to affirm gender transformation” and allow “biological girls who identify as boys to use the girls locker room.”

State model policies, introduced in 2022 and officially enacted in the month of July, state that school personnel must only refer to students by their name and pronouns in their “official records” unless parents have instructed otherwise in writing. Personnel cannot hide information about the gender of a student from parents.

According to the policies, access to facilities such as locker rooms and bathrooms – along with participation in athletics – must be determined by gender identity rather than sex. This means that a transgender woman would not be permitted to play for a girls’ team.

The plaintiffs are seeking relief in the form of a declaration that all school boards must adopt policies consistent with the model policy and an order requiring Virginia Beach to do so. They also want to remove any policies that threaten students who refuse to use words that affirm gender transformation.

David Schleck is the public relations coordinator at Virginia Beach City Public Schools. He told Forbes that the district could not comment on litigation pending, but “the School Board was working together to come up with a consensus on Model Policies.”

The lawsuit states that “Plaintiffs… are both parents who have children attending Virginia Beach public schools. They want to protect them from having to force their children to use biologically incorrect names and pronouns or to be forced to share bathrooms and locker rooms in the same building with people of the other sex. Or to pretend, during athletic competition, that gender identity could override physical differences between girls and boys.”

In July, Youngkin announced that his administration had made final changes to the guidance provided for school districts regarding gender identity. These changes reversed previous guidance from former Democratic Governor. Ralph Northam’s administration. Northam’s policy allowed schools to allow students to use names and pronouns which did not match the sex they were assigned, without “any substantiated evidence”. Virginia law requires that school boards “adopt policies consistent with the model policies outlined in the state” but that may be “more comprehensive” according to the policies. The Virginia Beach School Board rejected a resolution in August that sought to align the district’s regulations with state guidance for 2023. According to the Associated Press’ report, there were five people against it, five in support and one abstainer. The motion could not be passed. According to the Associated Press, state law that instructs districts to adopt policies that are aligned with state guidance does not specify how it will be enforced.

A school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, where the only topic of discussion is the model policy.