(The Washington Stand) — Over the summer, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) punished two high school boys for not wanting to share the boys’ locker room with a biological female. They used Policy 8040 to justify their decision, which allows students to use the bathroom that aligns with their so-called gender identity, rather than biological reality.
LCPS’s Title IX Office issued the two boys from Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia, a 10-day, in-school suspension for allegedly violating their transgender policy with their vocal concerns.
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In response, a lawsuit was filed in defense of the boys. Last week, they received news that a federal court granted a motion for emergency relief, temporarily blocking the district’s suspension as the case continues. Meanwhile, the Department of Education (DOE) announced that the school district is guilty of violating Title IX. As guest host Jody Hice said on Friday’s Washington Watch, it was not “a good week for Loudoun County school officials.”
And yet, he continued, a question remains: “Have they learned their lesson?”
Geary Higgins, a Virginia state delegate representing the 30th District, offered his input. “I’m not a lawyer,” Higgins said, but “it’s really a shame.… They ruled that the school board, in their decision to suspend these young men, did not consider the young men’s case at all.” He explained how he finds the transgender policy “very distasteful.”
Hice chimed in, saying, “It’s very interesting.… Do you think that the school district might actually be in the process of turning around on” their policies? “Or are they going to be dead set on hanging on to their radical gender ideology and forcing kids to do the same?”
Higgins expressed hope for change but remained skeptical, stating, “Frankly, I hoped that their response to the determination from the Department of Education would have gotten them to turn around. But that’s not the case. They had a chance a couple of weeks ago to withdraw that policy and to withdraw these actions against these two young men, and I just don’t see it happening.” Having attended several school board meetings, he noted that while “parents should show up and certainly voice their concerns,” their pleas often “fall on deaf ears.”
Hice couldn’t believe his ears. “That is just so hard to comprehend.” Higgins noted that the boys were not only uncomfortable having to share a locker room with a biological female, but the biological female had actually accused the boys of sexual harassment.
The transgender-identifying student filmed them as they expressed their discomfort with her being in their private space. Initially, three boys were a part of this situation, but one of them was reportedly exonerated. Even so, rather than addressing the boys’ concern, LCPS went in “the opposite direction in investigating the female student’s complaint,” Hice said. “So, are we witnessing here sex-based discrimination?”
Higgins replied, “I think that’s for the courts to sort out,” but added, “it appears that way if you’re going to look at the whole incident.” Hice emphasized the significance of the recent court ruling, asking Higgins for his message to LCPS and other districts nationwide. “This recent decision is telling,” Higgins said. “That judge has determined that [LCPS was] not operating properly with their policy,” which “speaks volumes.”
This comes alongside an ongoing and massive debate over transgenderism and whether trans-identifying individuals should be able to enter private spaces that align with their so-called gender identity. The Trump administration, since taking office in January, has taken several measures – including President Donald Trump’s executive order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” – to protect biological women from the trans-identifying men trying to be a part of their sports categories and use their locker rooms and bathrooms.
Several Title IX investigations have already occurred throughout the country, including investigations of at least five counties in Virginia alone. Both Loudoun and Fairfax counties, among the wealthiest in the U.S., have had numerous transgender policy-related incidents in recent years. Those counties found to have violated such efforts to safeguard women’s and girls’ sports and private spaces have faced consequences such as stripped or paused federal funding.
This article is reprinted with permission from the Family Research Council, publishers of The Washington Stand at washingtonstand.com.
