The Virginia Department of Education refused to release more than 300 pages of documents and emails related to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed policies regarding transgender students.
VPM News requested drafts of the new model guidelines along with correspondence related to those drafts. VPM News also requested emails sent or received by Jillian Balow, the state superintendent of public instruction, containing the word “transgender” from Aug. 1 – Sept. 19.
The department charged $125 for the search and claimed that 87 out of the 90 relevant records were fully excluded under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act, which exempts working papers of the governor from public release. That exemption allows officials to release the records at their discretion.
