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Loudoun County Public Schools violated Title IX and retaliated against two male students being filmed in a boys’ locker room by a transgender student.
WTOP’s Nick Iannelli discussed the DOE finding with Loudoun Now reporter Patrick Lewis
The U.S. Department of Education said Loudoun County Public Schools violated Title IX and retaliated against two male students who reported being filmed in a boys’ locker room by a transgender student who identified as a male.
The ruling, in the form of a press release, came the day after the families of the two students filed a federal lawsuit against LCPS, seeking to overturn suspensions for the two students at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia.
The decision is the latest by the Department of Education, under President Donald Trump, focused on the issue of whether transgender children should be allowed to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity.
“Loudoun County’s adherence to radical gender ideology has repeatedly placed its students in harm’s way,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. “Loudoun County failed to treat allegations of sexual harassment equally: it promptly investigated a female student’s complaint but quickly dismissed and failed to meaningly investigate two of its male students’ complaints of sexual harassment.”
According to the DOE release, LCPS has 10 days to voluntarily enter the Department’s Resolution Agreement, which requires the school system to take the following actions:
- Rescind the suspensions imposed on the two male students;
- Review its findings to determine if discipline of the male students is warranted and, if Loudoun County determines that it is, the discipline must not exceed the discipline imposed on students who engaged in similar conduct and who had comparable disciplinary histories;
- Issue letters apologizing for Loudoun County’s failure to properly investigate Title IX complaints;
- Notify the students and their parents that Loudoun County Public Schools will promptly investigate the formal Title IX complaints in a manner that is compliant with the requirements of Title IX; and
- Provide training to all high school and Loudoun County staff who receive or respond to reports of sexual harassment under Title IX.
Contacted by WTOP for a response to the DOE findings, Loudoun County Public Schools referred to an earlier comment: “At no time would LCPS suspend a student simply because they expressed some kind of discomfort. A reading of our Title IX resources should make it clear that there is a high bar to launch a Title IX investigation and an even higher bar to determine a student is in violation of Title IX.”
What this means, what comes next
Shortly after the DOE statement, WTOP evening anchor Nick Iannelli spoke with Loudoun Now reporter Patrick Lewis. Iannelli said the facts about what happened in the boys’ bathroom aren’t clear to the public.
“We know the school’s Title IX office found the two boys guilty of sexual harassment and sex based discrimination, and we only know that boys’ lawyers and their families released that,” said Lewis. “The schools are not going to release anything at all because they’re saying its protected student records.”
While the school system’s statement provides no specifics, Iannelli posited that the statement suggests other factors led to the students’ suspensions.
“There’s a lot of bars that you legally have to hit to even initiate a Title IX investigation once ou receive a complaint,” said Lewis. “Obviously, they found them guilty of harassment and discrimination, so from LCPS’s side, they’re saying they checked a lot of boxes, which obviously the boys and their attorneys are saying they were nowhere near checking.”
In July, DOE’s Office of Civil Rights found five Northern Virginia school divisions — Loudoun, Fairfax, Prince William, Arlington, and the City of Alexandria — had violated Title IX. The school systems refused to abide by the proposed DOE resolution agreement.
While the new release from the Department of Education doesn’t specify what steps would be taken if Loudoun doesn’t comply, “Presumably the Education Department will move further in their process to withdraw federal funding from the schools,” said Lewis.
However, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares referred his investigation into the locker room filming incident to the U.S. Department of Justice. “No word from them on whether they’re even investigating that, but potentially, down the road, there could also be criminal elements to all of this, as well,” said Lewis.
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Neal Augenstein
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