Join Charlottesville NOW this month for lively presentations and discussion on some hot button issues Virginians are facing now:
Current threats to abortion rights
Model policies for transgender student rights in Virginia schools
Teaching gender studies and women’s history in schools
Panelists include:
Han Jones, Political Director, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia
Galina Varchena, Policy Director, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia
Donna Price, practicing attorney and Vice-Chair of Albemarle County Board of Supervisors
Jessica Berg, English and Women's Studies Teacher
Register to attend via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvfu6orDwrEtQDfNgFkMynjlC1CRnQHqbb After you register you'll be emailed your unique link to join.
Background:
Last year, in response to laws enacted by the Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia Department of Education developed and made available to every school board Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools. Schools were required to have policies in place by the beginning of the 2021 school year. Some school systems have not yet adopted policies, or are actively resisting them, making them subject to legal action, the cost of which will have to be borne by the school system.
Virginia has come a long way, going from a state having many barriers to abortion, to one of the more accessible states. But there is nothing to keep different lawmakers from reinstating restrictions, even making Virginia like Texas, with laws that effectively ban almost all abortions. As abortion bans are sweeping the country, we must take action in Virginia to ensure that this essential reproductive healthcare remains safe and accessible. Since the U.S. Supreme Court let the abortion ban stand in Texas, and is about to hear a Mississippi case that directly targets Roe v. Wade, an amendment to the Virginia Constitution may be needed to guarantee bodily autonomy for everyone.
Demonstrating that one person can make a difference, a Virginia teacher created a Women and Gender Studies Course and got it adopted by her school system, where she has been teaching it for five years. Now a coalition of advocates have created a movement to promote gender equity in education by having all schools offer a Women and Gender Studies elective in high school, and by promoting legislation to require equitable inclusion of women in all core curriculum. Facts demonstrate the need: less than 30% of novels taught in Virginia high school English classes are by women; and a national study revealed that of 737 named historical figures, only 178 were women (1 for every 3 men).