By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – What started with a petition from three female athletes is now pushing bathroom policies to the state level.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin ordered Virginia’s Board of Health to begin writing new rules on sex-separated sports and facilities to “heed the call of common sense.”
Youngkin signed Executive Directive 14 on Oct. 2, telling the board to begin a rulemaking process that would prohibit biological males from participating in female-only athletic teams or using designated female spaces, such as locker rooms and bathrooms.
Youngkin said in a statement that “the health and safety of women and girls in sex separated spaces and participating in athletic competitions is in serious jeopardy due to irresponsible policies.”
The timing comes as bathrooms and school sports have been one of the top talking points in Virginia politics this year, and the directive comes just weeks before voters pick a new governor.
Youngkin pointed to federal investigations as part of his reasoning. In July, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights concluded that Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William schools violated Title IX when handling complaints about locker rooms and bathrooms.
The directive cites these findings as evidence that local policies were insufficient and that state-level rules are needed.
The order also cites a petition the Board of Health accepted in August from three female athletes who said they had been “directly harmed” by males competing in female collegiate sports. The athletes asked the state to amend regulations to keep biological males from joining girls’ teams or using female locker rooms, saying the lack of clear rules was unfair and unsafe.
Fairfax has also been at the center of the fight.
In September, parents filed a federal complaint after a biologically male student who identifies as female was seen in the girls’ locker room at West Springfield High School, as previously reported by The Center Square. The district said it was working with families, while Superintendent Michelle Reid warned that fighting federal rulings could put millions in funding at risk.
The directive took effect immediately upon Youngkin’s signature, but the rules are not final yet. The Board of Health is considering publishing a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action later this month.