Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) in Virginia has come under fire after suspending two boys and charging them with “sexual harassment” and “sex-based discrimination.”
The boys’ offense? Asking why a girl was in their boys’ locker room.
One legal group is urging the U.S. Department of Justice to “bring action to correct this wrong.”
The incident occurred in March when a female student, who identifies as male, at Stone Bridge High School — located roughly 35 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. — was allowed to change in the boys’ locker room. After gym class one day, the student used her phone to record several boys who wondered why a girl was in their locker room.
Attorneys with the Founding Freedoms Law Center (FFLC) say the 10-day suspensions the boys received threaten their academic records and future. One boy faces additional penalties, including a no-contact order and a requirement to work with the administration on a correction plan.
The suspensions will keep both boys out of school for the first two weeks of the academic year. Notably, one student, who no longer resides in the district, was still disciplined, raising concerns about LCPS’ intent to target students who challenge its gender policies, a FFLC spokesperson said.
In June, LCPS dismissed a “sexual harassment” charge against one of the three Stone Bridge High School sophomore boys who complained about the district policy that allows trans-identifying students to use the restroom or locker room intended for the opposite sex, according to FFLC, the legal arm of The Family Foundation.
FFLC attorneys say they are preparing to defend the boys and ensure the district’s correction plan doesn’t become a tool for indoctrination. The Center also raised questions about apparent inconsistencies in LCPS’ rulings, noting that a Muslim boy facing similar allegations was acquitted, while the two boys from Christian families were found guilty.
Renae Smith, mother of one of the boys, said she fears the charges could impact her son’s long-term future.
“My heart is devastated by the injustice of branding a 16-year-old boy with a guilty determination that could follow him for life, simply because he dared to state the obvious — that his privacy was violated when the opposite sex was allowed in his locker room, and even to the point where he was videotaped secretly,” said Smith.
Seth Wolfe, father of the other boy, called the punishment a consequence of LCPS’ ideological agenda. “Our son has become the latest casualty of Loudoun County’s woke indoctrination policies. Instead of protecting students’ privacy and acknowledging biological reality, the school system is punishing innocent boys with trumped-up charges that could jeopardize their college and career futures.
“Every parent should be alarmed — because if it can happen to our child, it can happen to yours.”
Victoria Cobb, president of the FFLC, condemned the school district’s actions: “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 it is willing to harm students in the name of woke ideology. Punishing boys for raising legitimate privacy concerns is outrageous.”
“To punish boys who complain that a biological girl is in their changing area is a top-down effort to normalize unacceptable privacy invasions,” Cobb said.
Josh Hetzler, legal counsel for the families, criticized LCPS’ actions as a violation of federal law, adding, “By making an example out of these boys and punishing them for complaining about a girl being in their locker room, LCPS shows its defiance of the U.S. Department of Education’s Title IX compliance demands.
Going forward, FFLC will “explore all” legal options even as it urges the U.S. Department of Justice to “bring action to correct this wrong,” Hetzler added.
