Wednesday, the Virginia House Education Early Childhood/Innovation Subcommittee voted to table HB 1434, effectively killing the bill. Narissa Rahaman, Executive Director of Equality Virginia, released the following statement after the vote: “We applaud the subcommittee’s decision to table HB 1434. This bill served no educational purpose and was entirely unnecessary. LGBTQ+ students thrive when they are provided safe, affirming and supportive learning spaces, which includes allowing them to go by their chosen name without jumping through legal hoops. HB 1434 would have run counter to that by creating a hostile school environment. By tabling this bill the subcommittee has sent a strong message that LGBTQ+ students belong in Virginia.” 

The Ballard bill would have required a student to obtain a “change of name” court order before school staff would be allowed to update the student’s name on any educational records.