Equality Arlington Announces 2027 VA General Assembly Legislative Priorities
Dear Senator Bennett-Parker, Senator Favola, Delegate Hope, Delegate Lopez, and Delegate McClure,
Virginia has a mixed record of supporting the LGBTQ+ community in recent years. While the General Assembly passed a number of critical laws in the final two years of the Northam administration—Virginia Values Act, creating the Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, and legislation to create model school policies protecting transgender students—the Youngkin administration presided over four years of attacks on transgender students, athletes, and adults, as well as the nonenforcement of recently added nondiscrimination protections. Eight months into the Spanberger administration, only some of the harm to LGBTQ+ Virginians from the last four years has been undone.
The most recent General Assembly session brought us victories with passage of the marriage equality constitutional amendment (to be considered by voters this November), improvements to the Virginia Human Rights Act, and a handful of other laws that aim to improve life for LGBTQ+ youth and adults. However, much more is needed, especially to protect transgender Virginians who face discrimination in schools, sports, and healthcare as well as ongoing threats to their health and safety from the federal government.
We are thankful that the Arlington delegation has shown a consistent record of standing up for LGBTQ+ Virginians and has a history of patroning legislation to improve our lives. You have also been consistent in your opposition to all of the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation introduced in the General Assembly each year. For the 2027 General Assembly Session, we ask that you work with us and other stakeholders across Virginia to patron or actively work to support the following legislation supportive of the LGBTQ+ community:
1) Amend the Human Rights Act to Waive Sovereign Immunity
Virginia Courts have concluded that, under the Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA), individuals cannot enforce their rights against potential discrimination by state agencies, including local governments, because Virginia has sovereign immunity. This includes discrimination prohibitions in employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This loophole makes it easier for governments and public schools in Virginia to violate the rights of protected groups where Virginia non-discrimination law is more expansive than Federal law (i.e., marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military/veteran status, and hair style and texture) and all protected groups under public accommodations (no similar federal protections exist). We call on our General Assembly delegation to prioritize giving individuals the power to enforce their rights if Virginia governments and public agencies, at all levels, discriminate against them.
Senator Ebbin introduced SB637 to waive sovereign immunity in the Virginia Human Rights Act during the 2026 General Assembly session but it was removed from the bill before passage in the Senate and was not added into the bill by the House of Delegates or Governor before passage and signing, respectively.
2) Amend § 22.1-23.3 of the Code of Virginia to Protect Transgender Student Rights in Schools
§ 22.1-23.3 of the Code of Virginia requires the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to “develop and make available to each school board model policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public elementary and secondary schools that address common issues regarding transgender students in accordance with evidence-based best practices and include information, guidance, procedures, and standards.” Unfortunately, the Youngkin administration was able to reinterpret this law to allow his VDOE to publish model policies that stripped transgender and non-binary students of their rights and required schools to implement policies that harmed them. These harmful model policies remain in place to this day. We call on our General Assembly delegation to prioritize amending the law to make it clear that Virginia public schools must protect the rights of transgender and non-binary students and create a safe and affirming learning environment.
3) Protect Foster Youth from Discrimination
LGBTQ+ youth are overrepresented in the foster care system. Unfortunately, while Virginia has an administrative regulation that protects foster youth from discrimination based on sexual orientation, there is no similar protection for youth based on gender identity. We call on our General Assembly delegation to prioritize ensuring that foster youth are treated fairly and equally and receive mental health and medical care and services that are culturally responsive and free from discrimination in alignment with the Virginia Human Rights Act.
4) Protect Access to Gender-Affirming Healthcare
Transgender youth and adults are losing access to the limited gender-affirming care that has been available to them in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The federal government has banned Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding from being used for gender affirming care for young people and is actively working to punish hospitals and healthcare providers who receive federal funding that provide critical, gender-affirming care. Access to affirming mental health and medical care is essential to maintaining a Virginia where transgender and nonbinary individuals can be themselves and can thrive. We call on our General Assembly delegation to prioritize making funding available to health care providers and/or patients to ensure that transgender and nonbinary youth and adults throughout the Commonwealth have access to basic gender-affirming care, no matter where they live.
5) Dedicate Funding to Support Safe and Affirming Emergency Shelter for Transgender Virginians
Organizations working with transgender individuals across the Commonwealth have reported that there are no safe emergency shelters for transgender residents. While this problem is particularly severe in rural parts of Virginia, even in urban areas with more emergency shelter resources, many transgender individuals struggle to find emergency shelters with staff and policies that address their specific safety and privacy needs. The cost for shelters to provide non-congregate (private room) sleeping spaces that maximize privacy and safety for clients who may be at risk of violence or abuse from other shelter clients is often cost-prohibitive given their limited funding. We call on our General Assembly delegation to prioritize making funding available for emergency shelter staff to receive cultural competency training and provide safe physical spaces for transgender individuals.
6) End Localities’ Ability to Restrict Zoning Definition of Family
Many Virginia localities, including Arlington County, have restrictive definitions of family in their zoning codes which limit the number of unrelated individuals who can live in a home while placing no such restriction on the number of related individuals who can live together. These policies discriminate against non-traditional families and make housing less affordable by limiting living arrangements that split housing costs. We call on our General Assembly delegation to require localities to change the definition of family in local zoning ordinances to remove limitations on unrelated individuals living in a single household. This would especially benefit elderly residents (i.e., Golden Girls) and LGBTQ+ residents who are unrelated but wish to live together to save money.
7) Strengthen Virginia Government’s Understanding of LGBTQ+ Residents’ Needs
To ensure that Virginia is meeting the needs of LGBTQ+ residents, it must have adequate data. Comprehensive needs assessments administered through professional surveys are an effective way to ensure that Virginia agencies understand and address the health, economic, housing, safety, education, and social needs of the LGBTQ+ community. While the General Assembly created the Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board in 2021 to advise the Governor on the needs of the LGBTQ+ community in Virginia, the board does not have an annual budget and has limited ability to collect data on the comprehensive needs of the LGBTQ+ community throughout the Commonwealth. Given the legislative charge for the advisory board to “undertake studies, sponsor symposiums, conduct research, and prepare factual reports,” it would be fitting to have the advisory board oversee a biennial needs assessment in partnership with a Virginia public academic institution. We call on our General Assembly delegation to prioritize providing funding for the Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board to conduct a survey every two years of the needs of LGBTQ+ Virginians.
8) Enact LGBTQ+ Patient Care Training Requirements
Many LGBTQ+ individuals in Arlington and throughout Virginia have reported negative experiences when seeking medical care. Much of the negative experience is rooted in a lack of training and knowledge on the part of health care workers who do not understand the unique mental and medical care needs of LGBTQ+ individuals. Some states have enacted training requirements for health care license holders to ensure that LGBTQ+ patients receive knowledgeable and affirming care. We call on our General Assembly delegation to prioritize enacting a requirement that continuing education for any health occupation licensed, registered, or certified by Virginia's 13 health profession regulatory boards includes two credits of instruction on cultural competency or specialized clinical training focused on LGBTQ+ patients.
9) Restore Full Funding for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Programs
In 2025, the Youngkin administration sharply cut funding for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) essential HIV care, treatment, and prevention services to thousands of Virginia residents, including in Arlington. While much of the funding was restored in the General Assembly’s FY 2027-2028 budget, the remaining funding gaps threaten the ability of local RWHAP providers to continue to provide access to these services, particularly for low-income uninsured and underinsured individuals. We call on our General Assembly delegation to prioritize restoring full funding for RWHAP service providers across the Commonwealth.
At a moment when LGBTQ+ individuals are under increasing attack, the Arlington General Assembly delegation has an opportunity to send a clear message that we are a welcoming and open Commonwealth that rejects hate and discrimination. We appreciate your past and current support of our community and we call on you to once more stand up for all LGBTQ+ residents by ensuring the legislative proposals listed above are introduced and passed in the Virginia General Assembly in 2027.
We hope we can continue to count on you as champions of policies that support our thriving LGBTQ+ community. If we can be of assistance moving forward, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Sincerely,
Kellen MacBeth
President, Equality Arlington
———
Click here to view this statement as a PDF