Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has ended a regulatory effort launched under former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin that sought to restrict transgender students from participating in girls’ sports and using certain sex-separated facilities.
Spanberger publicly addressed the decision Saturday during Virginia Pridefest in Richmond, where she became emotional while discussing the experiences of transgender children and their families.
“I burst into tears,” Spanberger told the crowd while explaining that she wanted LGBTQ+ Virginians to know they have a governor who values their community.
Behind that emotional moment was a considerably less dramatic piece of administrative law.
A Rule That Never Became a Rule
The controversy dates to 2025, when the Virginia Board of Health began pursuing regulations governing sex-separated sports and spaces.
Virginia’s official regulatory notice said the proposed regulations were intended to prevent what it called “biological males” from participating in female-only athletic teams and competitions and from using female-designated spaces where women or girls could be undressed. The Board of Health had approved beginning the regulatory process in August 2025.
Youngkin later publicly directed the board to move ahead with regulations involving women’s sports and locker rooms, arguing they were necessary to protect the health and safety of women and girls. Critics, including LGBTQ+ advocates, characterized the proposal as an attempt to use a public-health agency to restrict transgender Virginians.
But the regulation never made it across the finish line.
According to Virginia’s Regulatory Town Hall, the regulatory action was officially withdrawn on July 30, 2026.
It was reported that Spanberger consulted with Attorney General Jay Jones’ office and concluded the Board of Health lacked the legal authority to proceed with the regulation.
“There’s no legal authority to move forward with rulemaking,” Spanberger said after her Pridefest remarks, adding that her administration would not attempt to create new regulatory authority where it did not exist.
A Quiet Reversal Becomes a Public Statement
Interestingly, the administration did not announce the July withdrawal with a press conference or even a news release. Radio IQ reported that people close to Spanberger said the administration wanted to avoid creating another political fight around the issue.
That changed at Pridefest.
Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman welcomed the withdrawal, saying transgender Virginians should be able to access public facilities without discrimination. Shannon McKay, executive director of He She Ze and We, said it was important for transgender and nonbinary people and their families to see elected officials publicly standing with them.
For transgender Virginians, the practical result is straightforward: the Youngkin-era Board of Health rulemaking effort is over.
And this time, what disappeared quietly from a government docket eventually received a very public explanation.
