LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (7News) — Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) will suspend two boys who attend Stone Bridge High School because of their interactions with a female student who identifies as male, and chooses to use the boys’ locker room at school.
Earlier this year, 7News Reporter Nick Minock was the first to report that LCPS launched a Title IX investigation into the students after they were recorded on video asking why there was a girl in the boys locker room.
7News was also the first to report that the female student who identifies as male was the one who recorded the video in the locker room — a violation of district policy.
LCPS’s Title IX Office launched an investigation based on that video and the male-identifying student’s complaint. That office has now determined the two boys are responsible for sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination, according to attorney Josh Hetzler, who represents the families.
Hetzler said they were notified by LCPS Friday evening.
The punishment includes ten days of suspension and a no-contact order with the complainant, including not being able to be in any of the same classes. The boys are also required to meet with school administrators to determine a corrective action plan, according to Hetzler.
On Monday, 7News spoke with the parents of the two boys.
“I would say the first reaction was some anger, because we’re just really concerned with all this stuff,” Seth Wolfe, one of the parents, told 7News. “[We’re] saddened by the decision-making process and how that went.”
“[We’re] absolutely floored that they came back and branded my son responsible for sexual harassment and sex based discrimination with no solid evidence whatsoever,” Renae Smith, the other parent, told 7News. “We’re talking about scarring him for life by a biased process that’s supposed to protect fairness, but it’s shocking. It’s wrong, and it should terrify every single parent.”
Smith pulled her son out of LCPS this summer and moved out of state, but if he comes back, LCPS says they will suspend her son too.
Smith’s concern is this will follow her son because it’s on his permanent academic record, and could impact his college applications.
Smith and Wolfe believe LCPS is sending a message that any student who expresses views that disagree with so-called Policy 8040 will be punished.
“They’re going to have to follow what Loudoun County says, what they believe is right, and what goes against other people’s beliefs, or what we believe is right,” said Wolfe.
“What they’re doing to our children is just despicable,” said Smith.
SEE ALSO | ‘I really fear for my son’: Family leaves Loudoun Co. after LCPS locker room investigation
The boys will be juniors in high school this fall, which is when students begin applying for colleges.
The Founding Freedoms Law Center, which has been representing the families in this case, says they’ll keep on this case until this determination is overturned.
“The Founding Freedoms Law Center is working with our clients on next steps, but we are not going to let these boys go down without a fight, we’re going to stand with them all the way till they are innocent,” Victoria Cobb, the President of the Family Foundation of Virginia told 7News. “We have to, as a commonwealth, fight back against this kind of thing. Our clients have done nothing wrong, and they deserve to be deemed innocent. We’ve seen time and time again that Loudoun County, if given the opportunity to do the right thing, will instead do the wrong thing. LCPS, once again, shows that it is willing to harm students in the name of woke ideology, while every student is harmed when they do things like deny federal funds to kids’ education. These boys in particular are being made examples of what happens when someone crosses school indoctrination.”
On Monday, 7News reached out to the school district for a response on the Title IX office’s findings in this case. They did not respond.
The Virginia Attorney General investigated this situation over the summer and determined LCPS utilized an unlawful, discriminatory, and retaliatory Title IX investigation to silence students’ sincerely held religious beliefs. Attorney General Jason Miyares referred the matter to the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division for further investigation. We are waiting to learn whether either or both of those agencies will act on those referrals.
LCPS’s policy allows students the option to use bathrooms and locker rooms at school based on self-determined gender identity, not biological sex.
SEE ALSO | Locker room latest: Dad says family may leave Loudon County over Title IX investigation
LCPS’s decision to suspend the students comes on the heels of the Loudoun County School Board’s decision not to comply with the U.S. Department of Education’s demands that LCPS and other Northern Virginia districts reverse bathroom and locker room policies which allow students to use the facilities which match their chosen gender identity, not biological sex.
In July, the U.S. Department of Education determined LCPS, Fairfax County Public Schools, Prince William County Public Schools, Alexandria City Public Schools, and Arlington Public Schools’ bathroom and locker room policies violate Title IX.
However, on Friday, all five school systems announced they would not change those policies.
Arguing they are in place to comply with a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in a case called Grimm v. Gloucester County.
In that case, the court found refusing to allow a transgender student to use the bathroom that affirms their gender identity constitutes sex-based discrimination.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Education told 7News it had begun the process of cutting federal funding to those five school districts, which could cost each of them tens of millions of dollars a year.
“The Virginia divisions will have to defend their embrace of radical gender ideology over ensuring the safety of their students,” a portion of the department’s statement read.
After 7News broke this story on Monday, thousands of people have shared their opinions on social media on how LCPS is handling the situation and punishing the two Stone Bridge High School students.
The Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice noticed our story and posted on X, “This is very wrong and it will not stand!”
Republican Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running for governor, is also weighing in on the boy’s punishment and LCPS’s bathroom and locker room policies.
“It’s ludicrous,” Earle-Sears told 7News. “Boys are not comfortable undressing in front of nude girls in the same locker room, in spaces that they were not normally have access to. The boys are saying this, and the boys who should be applauded are not being applauded. Instead, they’re being punished for something that’s common sense. You know, for me, biological differences do matter. It’s not political, it’s common sense. And it’s parental rights, really. So, I’m speaking for parents and families all across Virginia. This is nonsense.”
7News reached out to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger’s team on Monday, after we broke the news, and again on Tuesday about LCPS’s discipline. Spanberger’s team did not respond to 7News yet.
7News previously reached out multiple times for Spanberger’s stance on school bathroom and locker room policies. Spanberger’s campaign response was a general statement that did not answer our specific questions, but said in part, “the safety of Virginia’s kids is Abigail’s top priority.”
Fairfax County Public Schools gave the following statement to 7News:
We have not received any communication from the U.S. Department of Education since we submitted our request last Friday to stop further action while this issue is clarified by the courts. So, we cannot comment on something that we haven’t seen.
While this matter with OCR is pending, FCPS policies and regulations will stay aligned with Virginia law and the rulings of the federal Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
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.
We look forward to continuing our strong start to our school year, resolute in our commitment to academic excellence and opportunity for each and every student in a safe and welcoming environment.