Loudoun schools accused of misusing Title IX in transgender locker room case
A locker room incident at a Loudoun County high school has reignited controversy over student privacy, free speech, and school policy — now drawing scrutiny from Virginia's top law enforcement office.
On Monday evening, the Office of the Virginia Attorney General confirmed that Loudoun County Public Schools launched an investigation against three male students who said they felt 'uncomfortable' when a biologically female student changed clothes in a boys' locker room and recorded the event.
The Attorney General's office also cited 'persistent' reports that LCPS and the school board have taken 'adverse' and 'potentially unlawful action' against parents, teachers, and public speakers.
Last month, Gov. Glenn Youngkin asked Attorney General Jason Miyares to investigate the claims to ensure the school division was upholding student privacy, dignity, and safety. The office described the school system's actions as a 'retaliatory Title IX investigation' targeting the three Stone Bridge High School students.
The case has been referred to the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice for further review.
'The investigation reveals a disturbing misuse of authority by Loudoun County Public Schools, where students appear to have been targeted not for misconduct, but for expressing their discomfort for being forced to share a locker room with a member of the opposite sex,' Miyares said in a statement Monday evening.
He added that Title IX was never meant to be used as a 'weapon' against free speech or religious convictions.
'Every student in Virginia deserves the right to speak openly, think freely, and live according to their conscience without fear of retaliation,' he said. 'Protecting those rights is not political — it's foundational to who we are as Americans.'
LCPS' Policy 8040 allows access to sex-separated facilities based on gender identity. However, the Attorney General's Office said the school division appears to be punishing the students 'who hold and express faith based views' instead of protecting their constitutional rights.
The school division has not commented on the investigation findings as of Tuesday morning.
However, LCPS did release a statement saying it was 'deeply disheartening' to see an elected official — whom they did not name — rely on a WJLA report to publicly criticize the school division. LCPS defended its safety policies and commitment to student well-being and rejected the suggestion that schools are unsafe.
Loudoun County is still contending with the fallout of a 2021 bathroom assault case involving a male student who was found guilty of attacking two female students at different schools over six months. In the first incident, the male student was wearing a skirt when he assaulted a female student in a girls' bathroom, although there's no evidence he identified as female.
In 2023, Loudoun County Public Schools launched a pilot program aimed at improving restroom privacy and safety. The initiative was designed to increase accessibility and provide students with the option of using multi-fixture, gender-specific restrooms or single-occupancy restrooms across all LCPS facilities.
Stone Bridge High School, where the locker room incident and investigation originated, was not part of that pilot program.
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