In several school districts in Virginia, teachers are strictly prohibited from informing parents of their kids’ sexual orientation and gender identity without the student’s permission.

For instance, if a Fairfax County or Loudoun County student identifies as transgender at school, teachers aren’t allowed to tell the student’s parents unless the student says it’s okay.

Now that Glenn Youngkin has a majority on the Virginia Board of Education, WJLA asked the governor if he thinks the board will pass new guidance for school districts.

With regards to informing parents with most important decisions about their children, I think everybody knows where I stand, parents matter," Youngkin said. "Parents should be at the forefront of all of these discussions. And I firmly believe that teachers and schools have an obligation to make sure that parents are well informed about what's happening in their kids lives. And one of the things we learned last year during the campaign is that parents were tired of being pushed to the background in their child's education."

LGBTQIA+ advocate Robert Rigby said Fairfax County Public School's policy helps protect youth who may not want their parents to know their sexual orientation and gender identity.

"Regulation 2603 protects the relationship between parent/guardians and children or youth by preventing teachers from putting themselves in the middle, willy-nilly," Rigby said. "Affirming parents/guardians have shared with me how upsetting it is to get a call from a teacher “revealing a secret” that the parent and child have already talked about. For LGBTQIA+ people (including students) a turning-point in our lives is talking to our parents and family about this very personal matter. No one (including school staff) should take this crucial discussion of 'coming out' away from the students and parents by 'outing' someone. It feels and is really intrusive and can be damaging to the parent/child relationship, sometimes permanently."

A Loudoun County Public Schools spokesperson said Regulation 8040 says this:

"Student Privacy and Confidentiality. Staff shall follow and adhere to legal standards of confidentiality relating to information about a student’s gender identity, transgender status, legal name, or sex assigned at birth. Staff must support student privacy and safety and not disclose a student’s gender identity or transgender status to other students or other parents. A student’s gender identity or transgender status should not be shared without the student’s consent, even internally among school personnel except to those with a legitimate educational interest or need to know. To ensure consistency, staff will update student classroom records (class rosters for substitutes, etc.) with the student’s consistently asserted chosen name and, where applicable, appropriate gender marker."

Youngkin’s state Department of Education is developing a policy that will require schools to notify parents of sexually explicit materials in schools. He recently appointed several new members to the Board of Education, including Suparna Dutta of Fairfax County.

"The State Board of Education will meet this month," Youngkin said. "And I'm very pleased with the folks that we were able to appoint an extraordinary collection of talent from across the Commonwealth, representing some of the national leaders in so many areas in education and most importantly, folks that are dedicated to serve the Commonwealth."