A Virginia school district has dropped a Title IX charge against a Muslim student who was one of three boys who complained about sharing a locker room with a girl who identifies as male while refusing to dismiss charges against the two other boys who are Christians, attorneys say.
Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), located about 35 miles northwest of Washington, D.C., has dismissed its “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 Founding Freedoms Law Center (FFLC), the legal arm of The Family Foundation.
The LCPS policy also states that school staff members are to use a trans-identifying student’s chosen name and pronouns “regardless of the name and gender recorded in the student’s permanent educational record.”
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In a dismissal letter to the Muslim student cited by FFLC, the school district said the complaint “must be dismissed from the Title IX grievance process” because “the conduct alleged would not constitute sexual harassment” as defined in Title IX regulations, “even if proved.”
Attorneys say on the same day the dismissal letter was released, the LCPS Title IX Office “not only refused to dismiss the other boys’ sexual harassment charges, but it added an additional charge for each of them for ‘sex-based discrimination,” despite the fact that all three boys had the same facts alleged against them.
The boys whose charges were enhanced are Christians, while the third boy, also a client of FFLC, is a Muslim, the FFLC reports.
“This is now a case of clear religious discrimination against our two Christian clients,” said FFLC Legal Counsel Josh Hetzler, who represents the three boys.
“While we celebrate the dismissal of our Muslim client from LCPS’s Title IX’ sexual harassment’ investigation, there is absolutely no basis for keeping this going against the two Christian boys. The same facts were alleged against them all, yet the only difference is their faith.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what the next steps LCPS will take. CP reached out to the school district for comment on Thursday. This story will be updated if a response is received.
Renae Smith, mother of one of the Christian boys, believes the school district is “targeting” her son.
“He is under investigation based on the same allegations as the boy whose charge was dismissed,” said Smith. “My son did nothing wrong, yet he is being subjected to an unfair process which clearly is designed to silence Christians who speak up against a radical agenda.”
The incident occurred in March when a female student at Stone Bridge High School who identifies as male 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.
One of the FFLC’s clients, whose name has not been revealed, reportedly asked: “Why is there a girl in the locker room?” Another boy told the P.E. teacher and the high school principal that he was uncomfortable changing in the locker room with a girl.
“We reject any characterization that implies our schools are unsafe or that we fail to protect the rights of all students,” an LCPS spokesperson told CP at the time. “We remain steadfast in our legal and ethical obligation to uphold the rights of every student and will continue to create and nurture an environment that is welcoming and accepting for all students, so that everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow and succeed.”
In February, the U.S. Department of Education confirmed it was investigating LCPS following a complaint from American First Legal that accused Loudoun and several other school systems of violating Title IX by allowing trans-identifying students to use locker rooms and bathrooms based on gender identity.
The investigation is not the first time LCPS policies have garnered national media attention.
In May 2021, a male student at Stone Bridge High School wore a skirt and entered the girls’ bathroom, where he then proceeded to sexually assault a female student. The student was transferred to another high school in the district, Broad Run High School, where he assaulted another female student a few months later.
