VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
Monday, June 12
Support Virginia beach LGbTQ+ Students
We need you to come show your support at the next Virginia Beach School Board Meeting from
5:45 - 8:00 on Monday, June 12
It's as easy as showing up and spending a few hours at the school board meeting. For months, Virginia Beach high school students have been standing up for their friends and speaking at the school board, asking for a commitment to protect their queer classmates.
Now that the School Board is responding with a resolution against discrimination, we have seen some of the same old resistance showing up. WE NEED YOU to show up in your Pride gear to fill the auditorium with allies and show the school board, the students that our city is not a harbor for hate.
So dress up, show up, sit and listen to some incredible student allies speak and make sure this generation of LGBTQ+ students is not one that walks the schools alone.
Why this MEETING?
There are three things on the agenda on the 12th that affect Virginia Beach students' ability to be acknowledged and respected:
A resolution affirming a commitment to nondiscrimination and anti-harassment of LGBTQ+ youth and adults in the Virginia Beach Schools educational environment 👍
A change in policy forcing "controversial" books to removed from our school libraries 👎
The proposed creation of student school board advisors. These students would be asked for input on student opinions on agenda matters. They would not be members of the board nor able to vote on board matters. 👍
DRESS WITH PRIDE!
Wear rainbow or pride clothing & hats. Flags are NOT allowed in the school board chamber.
As amazing as our student speakers are, applause or any other noisy reaction is strictly forbidden at the meetings. Instead, you can show your support silently with the ASL sign for applause.
Email the board!
Whether or not you can attend the meeting, you should email the school board and urge them to vote in favor of respecting students and again restricting books.
You can email the entire board at: SchoolBoard@vbcpsboard.com
You can even copy and paste this sample email, they just need to hear from us, so it doesn't seem like the loud negative voices speak for all parents and staff.
Sample email:
To: SchoolBoard@vbcpsboard.com
Subject: your vote
Hello, I'm a ___________ (student, parent, grandparent, voter) of Virginia Beach schools and I wanted to ask you to please vote in support of the Resolution against discrimination of LGBTQIA students and against any policy that would label books as "sexually explicit ". Thank you.
LGBTQ+ Nondiscrimination Resolution
Board Member Jessica Owens has put forth a resolution to re-affirm the district's commitment to nondiscrimination and anti-harassment. This is to assure students that the district will not be abandoning their commitment to protecting these children, even if the governor suggests discriminatory policies in the future. Note this resolution does not relate to school sports in any way. Sport participation of trans youth is governed by the Virginia High School Athletic League. The full text of the resolution can be found at the bottom of the page.
Sign up to speak!
Public comments can be done in person or via zoom. Once the public comment section of the agenda begins, the School Board will hear Public Comments until 8:00 p.m. and may suspend Public Comments to handle other matters on the Agenda and resume Public Comments later in the meeting. Remarks are limited to three minutes per person. You can sign up to address the Board beginning Wednesday, June 7th by using the online form or through the clerk of the Board by calling 757.263.1016. Signups close at noon the day of the meeting.
School Board meetings are currently held at the Holland Road Annex
(the old Kellam High School building)
2323 Holland Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23453
