Latest news with #bathroompolicy
Fox News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Virginia school district votes to keep gender bathroom policy, defying Department of Education directive
A Northern Virginia school district voted to keep its transgender bathroom policy in defiance of a U.S. Department of Education directive to rescind the policy or risk punishment. At a closed-session meeting on Tuesday, the Loudoun County school board voted 6-3 to keep its gender identity policy, which allows students to use the locker rooms and restrooms that correspond with their gender identity. The district was one of five Northern Virginia school districts urged in July to drop its transgender bathroom policy, after an investigation by the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) found the schools to be in violation of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education. The OCR issued a proposed resolution agreement to resolve the Title IX violations. The districts were asked to rescind these policies voluntarily or "risk imminent enforcement action, including referral to the U.S. Department of Justice." U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon warned in an interview with WJLA that schools could lose federal funding if they did not comply with the changes. Loudoun County was the first district to formally respond, according to WUSA9, saying it was open to discussing the matter but wouldn't agree to the Trump administration's terms "at this time." A Loudoun County Public Schools' spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the district remained committed to ensuring every student feels "safe, supported, and able to thrive" while it complies with applicable law. The board claimed its policy was in line with legal precedent from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit protecting transgender students. The district said that the Education Department's determination that such policies conflict with its interpretation of Title IX creates "a direct tension between federal agency guidance and binding judicial authority." "As a result, they asked LCPS (and four other school divisions in Northern Virginia) to sign a proposed resolution agreement. After consultation with legal counsel, the Board voted 6-3 not to comply with this request due to the tension between the OCR position and current law. We will continue to monitor developments closely to ensure continued legal compliance and the protection of all students." "Our priority remains the same: doing what is right for Loudoun County's young people; focusing on educating our students and ensuring our schools are places where every child feels they belong," the statement concluded. The district's gender identity policy, called Policy 8040, has been embroiled in controversy since it was adopted in 2021. A Loudoun County father made national headlines that year after he accused the school board of covering up the sexual assault of his daughter by a male student wearing a skirt in the girls' bathroom. Earlier this year, three LCPS high school students were investigated after they complained about sharing a locker room with a biological female student, who identified as male. The school's handling of the incident spurred a probe by Virginia's Republican Attorney General Jason Mirayes into the district's gender policies and launched a Title IX investigation by the Justice Department. The Biden administration finalized Title IX regulations in 2024 to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students, interpreting the law's prohibition on sex discrimination to include gender identity and sexual orientation. Shortly after taking office, Trump's Department of Education notified K-12 schools that it would be reversing Biden's re-write of Title IX and enforcing these protections on the basis of biological sex in schools and on campuses. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPThe Department of Education did not immediately return a request for comment.
Fox News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Florida AG warns tony gym after woman encounters 'man in a bikini' in locker room
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has warned a high-end fitness club it must change its bathroom policy after a recent complaint or face prosecution under Gov. Ron DeSantis' "Let Kids Be Kids" law protecting children from sexually explicit content and gender ideology. "Men don't belong in female restrooms and locker rooms. That's not happening in Florida under my watch," Uthmeier told Fox News Digital Thursday after a complaint was issued by a woman who visited Life Time Fitness in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The woman said she encountered a person she identified as a biological male in the women's locker room. The woman, Sonja Horton, said she was in the sauna with a "man in a bikini" and that the front desk told her "whatever you identify as, you can go wherever you want," according to WPTV. "Life Time has a choice: immediately change your policy so that your female patrons can stay active, free from fear and with their privacy intact or, we'll meet you in court," said Uthmeier. "And that goes for any Florida gym. In this state, we don't sacrifice women's rights to satisfy men's delusions." Horton reported not feeling safe, adding it was not "fair" biological men could use the women's room. The incident report led Uthmeier to send a warning letter to Life Time Inc., saying its policies "clearly harm and endanger women who use facilities at Life Time Palm Beach Gardens." It said the gym argued that Palm Beach County code makes gender identity a protected class and "therefore condones or requires its harmful locker room policy." "If that were true, the policy would nonetheless run afoul of Florida laws that safeguard the fundamental rights of women," Uthmeier wrote. In response, a Life Time official told Fox News Digital it "carefully reviewed" Uthmeier's warning letter and "interpretation of the interplay between the Florida Civil Rights Act prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations based on "sex," and the Palm Beach County ordinance, which additionally prohibits discrimination based on "gender identity and expression." The Life Time official said Uthmeier's legal opinion is that Florida law requires access to locker rooms based on sex listed on government documents, adding that the gym follows "all applicable federal, state and local public accommodation laws within each jurisdiction it operates." "Accordingly, we will comply with Attorney General Uthmeier's legal opinion while also remaining committed to welcoming all members at our Palm Beach Gardens club," the official said. A DeSantis spokesman told Fox News Digital safety and privacy are paramount in the Sunshine State. "In Florida, we reject the lie that men can become women and support the privacy and safety of women's private spaces, like locker rooms," said Brian Wright, a spokesman for the governor. Fox News Digital reached out to Palm Beach County for comment on the parties' interpretation of the county statute.
