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Tag: trans students

  • Fairfax County Public Schools appeals dismissal of suit against Education Dept. tied to gender policy – WTOP News

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    The fight over gender and bathrooms at Fairfax County Public Schools is continuing, as the school system appealed the dismissal of a lawsuit against the Department of Education.

    The fight over gender and bathrooms at Fairfax County Public Schools is continuing, as the school system appealed the dismissal of a lawsuit against the Department of Education to regain federal funding.

    The Fairfax County School Board on Tuesday filed the appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for Virginia’s Fourth Circuit after a judge denied the school district’s request to obtain a preliminary injunction on Friday that would prevent the Department of Education from freezing its federal funding.

    The Education Department placed Fairfax County Public Schools and four other Northern Virginian districts on “high risk” status, meaning the Education Department would scrutinize their federal reimbursement requests.

    This all comes after the Department of Education claimed Fairfax, along with Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington and Alexandria City public schools are violating Title IX with their policies that let students use bathrooms based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex.

    Judge Rossie Alston Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled Friday that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction.

    Fairfax and Arlington counties filed the initial lawsuit last month.

    In a statement, FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid said they believe their current policies on Title IX regarding bathroom and locker room usage comply with state and federal law. They are continuing to reach out to the DOE about the “high risk” status designation.

    “These vital federal funds that remain at risk support food and nutrition services, as well as staffing cafeterias. Other funding supports services and instruction for students with disabilities, aims to improve student achievement, enhances technical education, promotes teacher development, and funds community education programs,” Reid wrote.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Luke Lukert

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  • ‘Confused and a bit perplexed’: Fairfax Co. superintendent reacts to ‘high-risk status’ from Education Department – WTOP News

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    In an interview with WTOP, Superintendent Michelle Reid said the division is “a bit confused and a bit perplexed as to how best to address this, because there really is not a relevant exemplar in recent years that anyone can recall that called out anything of this nature.”

    Days after the Department of Education placed five Northern Virginia school systems that didn’t change their bathroom policies on high-risk status, Fairfax County’s superintendent said the state’s largest school district is reviewing the agency’s message and considering next steps.

    In an interview with WTOP, Superintendent Michelle Reid said the division is “a bit confused and a bit perplexed as to how best to address this, because there really is not a relevant exemplar in recent years that anyone can recall that called out anything of this nature.”

    In a four-page letter sent to Prince William County Superintendent LaTanya McDade on Monday, and obtained by WTOP, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said the division has to submit a corrective action plan within 30 days. It also told the district to submit plans for compliance with all federal laws.

    The step marks a significant escalation in the back-and-forth between the federal agency and the five Northern Virginia districts.

    Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun, Prince William and Fairfax counties’ schools all rejected a request to change their bathroom policies, which currently allow students to use intimate facilities based on their gender identity. While the school districts said their practices align with current law, the education department said they violate Title IX.

    “We were really disappointed that the Department of Education wouldn’t engage in any kind of thoughtful collaboration, and rather, sent this letter in response,” Reid said. “We were very disappointed with this.”

    In the letter to Prince William County schools, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, McMahon said despite an extension to the deadline to change bathroom policies, the district “stated it does not intend to make the necessary policy changes to come into compliance with Title IX.” The division is on high-risk status so the agency can “ensure taxpayer dollars are not being spent on illegal activity.”

    There hasn’t been funding withheld to date, and school districts routinely apply for reimbursement when the funding is tied to federal grants.

    In Fairfax, Reid said it’s unclear what the high-risk status means, “because we recently received a very clean federal audit on our Title II grant. And in fact, as we read the regulation around this high-risk language, we’re in compliance with all elements of operation in terms of these federal grants.”

    Despite the uncertainty, Reid said the district is confident that “appropriated Congressional funds will continue to be appropriated.” The school districts have 10 business days to ask for a reconsideration of the high-risk designation.

    In the case of Fairfax County, Reid said practices “are aligned with Virginia law and the rulings of the federal Court of Appeals in the Fourth Circuit.”

    The district is planning to reach out the federal agency for clarification, she said.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Scott Gelman

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  • 5 Northern Virginia school districts placed on high-risk status after not changing bathroom policies – WTOP News

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    Five Northern Virginia school divisions have been placed on high-risk status and will have federal reimbursement requests scrutinized, the Department of Education announced.

    Five Northern Virginia school divisions that refused to change their gender policies over the use of bathrooms and locker rooms have been placed on “high-risk status” by the U.S. Department of Education and will have their federal reimbursement requests scrutinized.

    In a news release, the federal agency said the school districts will be placed on “reimbursement status” for funding, including formula funding, discretionary grants and impact aid grants. Schools in Loudoun, Fairfax, Prince William and Arlington counties and the City of Alexandria will have to pay up front and then request reimbursement, the department said.

    The announcement comes days after the districts all announced they wouldn’t make changes to their policies for intimate facilities, such as restrooms and locker rooms. The Education Department requested they do so, saying policies that allow students to use bathrooms based on gender identity rather than biological sex violated Title IX.

    The divisions, however, said their current practices are in compliance with the law.

    “The Northern Virginia School Divisions that are choosing to abide by woke gender ideology in place of federal law must now prove they are using every single federal dollar for a legal purpose,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in the release.

    Prince William County School Board Chairman Babur Lateef said the federal agency already approves its reimbursement requests based on spending for special education and Title IX. However, he said, $50 million could be at risk for Virginia’s second-largest school system.

    “Now, they’re saying they will scrutinize all our reimbursements at a level to determine if we are compliant with federal laws, and we’re assuming that, since they don’t believe we’re compliant, they are likely to withhold money to our school divisions for our Title I monies and students for disabilities,” Lateef told WTOP. “We don’t believe they are allowed to do that, but it looks like that’s what they are going to try to do.”

    Prince William, Lateef said, is “willing to do whatever it takes to protect our federal funds and we’re looking at different options.”

    Meanwhile, Fairfax County Public Schools said it received the DOE’s letter just after 4 p.m. Tuesday. On Friday, the original deadline for divisions to change their policies, Fairfax responded with information about why its existing practices are consistent with state and federal law, the division said in a statement.

    In that message, Fairfax “also requested the Department of Education stop further action while this issue is clarified by the courts.”

    The school district said it’s reviewing the new letter in detail, and while the issue is pending, policies will stay aligned with state law and a ruling from the federal Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

    “Any student who has a need or desire for increased privacy, regardless of the underlying reason, shall continue to be provided with reasonable accommodations,” Fairfax County schools said.

    A spokesman for Loudoun County Public Schools, meanwhile, said the division doesn’t believe it’s in violation of Title IX: “LCPS disputes that we have engaged in activity that would warrant being characterized as a ‘high-risk’ grantee and will consider appropriate next steps.”

    The City of Alexandria school system told WTOP that it’s reviewing the correspondence from the Education Department.

    WTOP has contacted Arlington County Public Schools for comment.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Scott Gelman

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