FROM: Delegate Kathy Tran

SUBJECT: Newsletter 12/8/22

December 8, 2022

Neighbors, 

Thanks to everyone who joined my first town hall to discuss the upcoming session — We had great questions covering a wide range of topics, including mass transit, road safety, electric vehicles, collective bargaining, gun violence prevention, and Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. I hope you’ll be able to join our future town halls!

In this newsletter, I’ve included information about the following:

  • Upcoming Town Halls

  • Ox Road Traffic Study Town Hall, December 14 at 8:00pm.

  • Fairfax County Delegation Public Forum, January 7 at 9am.

  • Community Updates

    • Take Your Legislator to School Month at South County High School

  • Legislative

    • Legislative Meetings

    • History and Social Studies Standards of Learning

    • VA Department of Education Transgender Model Policy

    • JCOTS Study on Accessible Education Technology

As always, let me know if you have questions or need assistance by calling my office at (804) 698-1042 or emailing me at DelKTran@house.virginia.gov. 


Best, Kathy

Kathy KL Tran

Delegate

UPCOMING TOWN HALLS

Your input is important to me and I hope you will join my upcoming town halls to share your priorities for our community.

December 14 Ox Road Traffic Study Town Hall

In September 2021, I requested the Virginia Department of Transportation to study the corridor of Ox Road/Route 123 near the intersection of Palmer Drive after multiple constituents reached out to me about their concerns with accidents along this stretch of road. This is an opportunity for VDOT to share their findings with and hear directly from our community. 

Delegate Kathy Tran’s

Ox Road Traffic Study Virtual Town Hall

Wednesday, December 14

8:00pm to 9:00pm

Registration required at https://bit.ly/oxroadtownhall 

January 7 Fairfax County Delegation Public Forum

Our annual Fairfax County Delegation Public Forum will be held in-person this year at the Fairfax County Government Center.

Fairfax County Delegation Public Forum

Fairfax County Government Center, Conference Room 11

Saturday, January 7

9:00am until conclusion

Registration required; the link will go live on December 19.

To register, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/countyexec/genassemblydelegation_publichearing 

Community Updates

Take Your Legislator to School Month at South County High School

It was great to join Fairfax School Board Member Laura Jane Cohen at South County High School for the Virginia School Boards Association’s Take your Legislator for School Month! We saw theater, ceramics, and history classes, and I presented commendations recognizing the Stallions’ recent achievements in music, softball and soccer.

Legislative Updates

Legislative Meetings

My staff and I have been meeting with individuals and organizations about their legislative priorities as we get ready for the 2023 legislative session.

Groups that we have met with include: The Arc of Northern Virginia, AFSCME, Birth In Color, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, Enterprise Community Partners, Fairfax County School Board, Fairfax Educators Association Retired/Fairfax County Retired Educators, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, Natural Resources Defense Council, Repro Rising, United Food and Commercial Workers, Virginia Association of Counties, Virginia AFL-CIO, Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners, and the Virginia Housing Alliance.

Our discussions have covered a wide range of issues such as policies impacting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, education, worker rights, working families, housing affordability, healthcare and reproductive care, and the environment. We really appreciated these conversations and thank those that have met with us for their time.

History and Social Studies Standards of Learning

Many constituents have reached out to me with concerns about the Youngkin Administration’s proposed draft History and Social Studies standards of learning. 

By statute, the various standards of learning are reviewed and updated at least once every seven years. On August 17, 2022, the first draft of the SOL curriculum was presented to the Virginia Board of Education. That draft was developed over a two-year period based on feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, including historians, educators, museum leaders, parents, and businesses as well as public comments submitted from over 5,000 Virginians. The process for developing our SOL curriculum has been refined over time to allow for transparency and community engagement.

On November 11, the Youngkin Administration released a new proposal. It contains many concerning portions, including erasure of important pieces of our country and Commonwealth’s history, particularly the contributions of Black Virginians and other communities of color. It also displayed a clear ideological bent that is dismissive of the valuable role that government plays in our society.

The Virginia Board of Education rejected the Youngkin Administration’s proposed draft, but they chose to use it as a baseline for future drafts. I share the concerns that I have heard from constituents. I sent the board a letter urging them to reject the Youngkin administration’s proposal and use the August 17th draft as a baseline instead. You can read my letter to the board here.

VA Department of Education Transgender Model Policy

As I had mentioned previously, recognizing that LGBTQ youth are disproportionately at risk for self-harm, the General Assembly passed bipartisan legislation in 2020 that instructed the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to develop model, evidenced-based policies for school boards to address the treatment of transgender students.

On September 16, Governor Youngkin issued revised model transgender policies for Virginia public schools. The revised policies are a significant departure from the previous policy. You can find more information on the original policy and the revised policy on VDOE’s website.

VDOE received more than 71,000 comments on the proposed changes. The Governor has delayed the implementation of the model policies in late October and we have not received any updates on what is happening with the policies now or if the Governor will be making any further updates. We will share any updates once we receive them.

JCOTS Study on Accessible Education Technology

In the 2022 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Session, I worked with my constituent, Donna, and the National Federation for the Blind’s Virginia Chapter to introduce House Bill 1246 to require school districts to prioritize purchasing accessible education technology so that all of our students, regardless of their abilities, can fully engage in their classrooms. 

Virginia’s Joint Commission on Science and Technology (JCOTS) was asked to study this issue, and they recently released their report. JCOTS shares input from stakeholders on why accessible educational technology is important for students with disabilities and how school districts can identify and procure digital tools, online platforms, courses, digital applications, information, communication technology services, and digital content that comply with the federal accessible standard. You can see the report here.

I have been collaborating with the National Federation for the Blind’s Virginia Chapter and the Virginia Higher Education Accessibility Partnership to develop updated legislation to address this issue for the 2023 session.