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Public commenters press Newport News board to revise procedure JBP and protect trans students

Newport News Public Schools School Board · February 18, 2026

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Summary

Multiple public commenters urged the school board to revise procedure JBP to respect transgender students' pronouns and privacy; a speaker cited a recent Fourth Circuit decision on school use of pronouns and urged local policy changes.

Several members of the public urged the Newport News School Board to revise procedure JBP—how the district implements policy JB—so that it better protects transgender students and aligns with recent court guidance.

Reverend Natalie Chamberlain asked the board, "When are you going to fix policy JBP?" and cited a recent federal appeals decision, saying the Fourth Circuit on Jan. 28 affirmed a lower-court ruling related to use of preferred pronouns and nondisclosure of a student's transgender status without consent. "It's about time that you as a board get on the right side of history," she said.

Other speakers made similar requests. Jackie Batterson requested that the board change the wording in procedure JBP to correspond to policy JB so that "transgender children receive the same rights and respect as every other child in this school system." David Brackman, speaking for a community campaign, asked the board to "revise procedure JBP to better respect trans students" and also urged consideration of collective bargaining for staff.

Board members did not take immediate formal action at the meeting; the public comment period closed and the board moved on to the consent agenda and scheduled items. The speakers asked the board to review the procedure and to bring proposed changes through the division's policy process.