In April 2025, three Virginia female athletes, Réka György, Lily Mullens and Carter Satterfield, petitioned the Virginia Board of Health to adopt regulations keeping biological males out of female-only athletic teams and competitions, and out of female spaces such as locker rooms where women and girls may be undressed. On August 18, 2025, the Board voted 14-0 to approve the petition and begin writing the rule under Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The public weighed in during the comment period. Then, after Gov. Abigail Spanberger took office, her administration consulted Attorney General Jay Jones’s office and concluded the Board did not have the authority to issue the rule, according to Radio IQ. The state’s regulatory docket shows the rulemaking was withdrawn on July 30, 2026, after the comment period had ended.
There was no press release or public announcement, and no notice to the athletes who started the process or the Virginians who submitted comments. The public learned the rule was dead in mid-September, when Radio IQ reported it after the governor discussed the issue in a speech at Virginia Pridefest. People close to the governor told the station she did not want to bring on additional fights.
Days after that story broke, Gov. Spanberger stood at the Capitol and announced a plan she said would end secrecy around data center deals. Transparency, she said, is a priority.
That standard should apply to her own decisions too. Withdrawing a rule that affects every girls’ locker room and sports team in the state is a major policy decision. Families had a right to know when it happened and why. Instead, the administration made the decision without notice and let it surface six weeks later through a reporter’s digging.
If the governor believes this was the right call, she should be willing to defend it in public. Avoiding a fight is not the same as governing openly.
This is not an abstract debate for Virginia parents. Girls train for years to compete for spots on teams, podium finishes, and scholarships. Many families believe those opportunities depend on competing against other girls. They also expect that locker rooms and changing areas where their daughters undress will be reserved for girls.
Those concerns can be addressed while treating every student with dignity. Schools can offer private or single-user facilities to any student who wants more privacy. Protecting girls’ sports and private spaces does not require treating anyone with disrespect. It requires recognizing that girls have interests too.
Fairfax County families know how contentious these policies have become in our schools. They deserve a state government willing to engage openly on the question.
The administration’s stated reason is legal: it says the Board of Health lacks the authority to write this rule. That is a real argument, and if it is correct, the answer is legislation.
The General Assembly returns in January. If the governor believes this question belongs to lawmakers, she should say whether she would sign a bill protecting girls’ sports and private spaces. Fairfax residents should ask their delegates and state senators the same question.
Contact your delegate and state senator and ask where they stand on protecting girls’ sports and privacy in Virginia. And ask Gov. Spanberger why a decision this significant was made without telling the families it affects.