SW News: In an interview with Fox News, the governor of the US state of Virginia Glenn Youngkin has defended his new draft policies relating to transgender students in public schools. In the interview on Wednesday, he pointed out that the new rules would protect the dignity, privacy, and safety of students.

“We first want to love every kid,” Youngkin said. “And we want to make sure we're protecting their dignity, and their privacy, and their safety. And the difference in what our policies are focused on is indeed bringing parents fully in."

Youngkin’s 2022 Model Policies define the word "sex" as biological sex, and "transgender students" refers to "a public school student whose parent has requested in writing, due to their child’s belief that his or her gender differs from his or her sex, that their child is so identified while at school."

He added that the new policies would bring parents more fully into the fold. If parents authorize a change in a student's name, pronoun, or bathroom use, "accommodations will be made for that student."

Students staged walkouts in school as a mark of protest against the draft policies on Tuesday, in Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun, Arlington, and Stafford counties.

In a statement to Fox News Digital regarding the walkouts, Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said the guidelines make it clear that when parents are part of the process, schools will accommodate the requests of children and their families.

"Parents should be a part of their children’s lives, and it’s apparent through the public protests and on-camera interviews that those objecting to the guidance already have their parents as part of that conversation. While students exercise their free speech today, we’d note that these policies state that students should be treated with compassion and schools should be free from bullying and harassment."

Youngkin said his predecessor Gov. Ralph Northam’s policies excluded parents, however, the new draft policies ensure parents are the primary decision-makers.