ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — In several school districts in Virginia, teachers are strictly prohibited from informing parents of their kids’ sexual orientation and gender identity without the student’s permission.

For instance, if a Fairfax County or Loudoun County student identifies as transgender at school, teachers aren’t allowed to tell the student’s parents unless the student says it’s OK.

Now that Youngkin has a majority on the Virginia Board of Education, 7News asked the governor if he thinks the board will pass new guidance for school districts.

"With regards to informing parents with most important decisions about their children, I think everybody knows where I stand, parents matter," said Youngkin. "Parents should be at the forefront of all of these discussions. And I firmly believe that teachers and schools have an obligation to make sure that parents are well informed about what's happening in their kids' lives. And one of the things we learned last year during the campaign is that parents were tired of being pushed to the background in their child's education."

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LGBTQIA+ advocate Robert Rigby said Fairfax County Public School's policy protects and preserves the communication and relationship between students and their parents and guardians.

"Regulation 2603 protects the relationship between parent/guardians and children or youth by preventing teachers from putting themselves in the middle, willy-nilly," said Rigby. "Affirming parents/guardians have shared with me how upsetting it is to get a call from a teacher 'revealing a secret' that the parent and child have already talked about. For LGBTQIA+ people [including students] a turning point in our lives is talking to our parents and family about this very personal matter. No one [including school staff] should take this crucial discussion of 'coming out' away from the students and parents by 'outing' someone. It feels and is really intrusive and can be damaging to the parent/child relationship, sometimes permanently."

A Loudoun County Public Schools spokesperson said Regulation 8040 states this:

"Student Privacy and Confidentiality. Staff shall follow and adhere to legal standards of confidentiality relating to information about a student’s gender identity, transgender status, legal name or sex assigned at birth. Staff must support student privacy and safety and not disclose a student’s gender identity or transgender status to other students or other parents. A student’s gender identity or transgender status should not be shared without the student’s consent, even internally among school personnel except to those with a legitimate educational interest or need to know. To ensure consistency, staff will update student classroom records (class rosters for substitutes, etc.) with the student’s consistently asserted chosen name and, where applicable, appropriate gender marker."

Youngkin’s state Department of Education is developing a policy that will require schools to notify parents of sexually explicit materials in schools.

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"We're so pleased this year, to be able to sign legislation on a bipartisan basis to give parents the ability to decide where their children wear a mask, to give parents the ability to whether materials are appropriate for their children in their instruction," said Youngkin. "And oh, by the way, to make sure that parents now as we head into this year, we're going to have a clear set of information with regards to how their children are performing. And that's what our commitment to Virginia's 100-Day Education Plan was all about. It's bringing a real transparency to the way that parents are able to see how their kids are being educated. So, I firmly believe that parents should be informed on all aspects of their children's lives. And it's an obligation of our school system and teachers in order to do that."

Youngkin recently appointed several new members to the Board of Education, including Suparna Dutta of Fairfax County.

SEE ALSO | Longtime critic of Fairfax Co. School Board appointed to Virginia Board of Education

"The State Board of Education will meet this month," Youngkin told 7News. "And I'm very pleased with the folks that we were able to appoint an extraordinary collection of talent from across the Commonwealth, representing some of the national leaders in so many areas in education and most importantly, folks that are dedicated to serve the Commonwealth."