Several Northern Virginia school districts said Friday they aren’t making plans to change their bathroom policies, defying a Department of Education request that accused existing practices of violating Title IX.
Several Northern Virginia school districts said Friday they aren’t making plans to change their bathroom policies, defying a U.S. Department of Education request that accused existing practices of violating Title IX.
Prince William County, Arlington and City of Alexandria schools said they won’t make changes, citing disagreements with the federal agency’s interpretation of Title IX.
The move comes after the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights found policies letting students using facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity rather than biological sex violated Title IX. Friday was the deadline to respond to the inquiry.
Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications with the DOE, told WTOP that the Education Department will now begin “the suspension or termination of federal financial assistance to these (school) divisions.”
“The Virginia districts will have to defend their embrace of radical gender ideology over ensuring the safety of their students,” Biedermann added.
Loudoun County’s school board voted 6-3 this week to push back on making changes.
In a statement Friday, Fairfax County Public Schools said it has asked OCR to “stop further action” and that it would not be signing the proposed resolution agreement, citing its alignment with Virginia law.
“FCPS remains dedicated to creating a safe, supportive, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff members, including our transgender and gender-expansive community. Any student who has a need or desire for increased privacy, regardless of the underlying reason, shall continue to be provided with reasonable accommodations,” the school system added.
The school systems, in separate statements Friday, said their currents policies are in compliance with state and federal law. Arlington Public Schools cited the Virginia Values Act, while Prince William County Public Schools said its decision was guided by the Fourth Circuit’s binding decision in Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board.
“We disagree with the Department of Education’s interpretation of Title IX, and we have notified them that we disagree with them, and we are happy to sit down with them and have further discussions on why we disagree,” Prince William County School Board Chair Babur Lateef told WTOP’s Scott Gelman.
Lateef said he is not sure what sort of consequences his school system could face from the Education Department.
“We do not have any monies coming to Prince William County Schools tied to Title IX,” Lateef said. “Title IX is the issue of concern right now by the Office of Civil Rights. We have no money coming to that, so we do not believe the federal government can cut any funds.”
Prince William, Arlington and City of Alexandria schools have shared their full responses to Office for Civil Rights.
The department requested the divisions to make changes or possibly be referred to the Department of Justice.
WTOP’s Thomas Robertson and Ciara Wells contributed to this report.
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