The Republican-controlled Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill on Tuesday that requires public school officials to notify parents if their child “self-identifies” as something other than his or her biological sex. The final vote came along party lines, with 50 Republicans supporting and 48 Democrats opposing the measure.
Known as “Sage’s Law,” the legislation (HB 2432) was named after a 14-year-old Virginia girl who ultimately became a victim of sex trafficking after her school concealed her gender dysphoria from her mother. As The Federalist previously reported, the chain of events began in August 2021 when Sage started identifying as a boy, suffering intense bullying and harassment at school as a result. Sage eventually ran away and was found over a week later in Maryland as a victim of sexual assault.
According to a summary of the legislation, if a school official “has reason to believe” that a student “is self-identifying as a gender different from the student’s biological sex,” said official is required “to contact as soon as practicable at least one of such student’s parents to ask whether such parent is aware of the student’s mental state and whether the parent wishes to obtain or has already obtained counseling for such student.”
Under the bill, school officials are also barred from “encouraging or coercing a minor to withhold from the minor’s parent the fact that the minor’s perception of his or her gender or sex is inconsistent with the minor’s biological sex” or “withholding from a minor’s parent information
