Two high school students in Virginia are suing the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) for denying their appeal against a sexual harassment ruling.
The students, who are sophomores at Stone Bridge High School, were reprimanded earlier this year after expressing unease about a transgender classmate, who is a biological female, changing in the boys’ locker room.
The incident started after a female student, who identifies as a boy, was given permission to change in the boys’ locker room. The student then used her phone to record the boys who were questioning the reason for a girl being in their locker room. The school, in response to the video, issued a 10-day-long suspension for the boys and Title IX charges, a permanent mark on their academic records. One boy also faces a no-contact order and a requirement to work with the administration on a correction plan.
An appeal was made to the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), who recently issued a final denial of appeal. This resulted in the Founding Freedoms Law Center (FFLC), in partnership with America First Legal, announcing that they were preparing a lawsuit to resist the boys’ punishment. One of the boys has left the district since the incident but still has the Title IX violation on his record, while the other remains a student at Stone Bridge High School and faces suspension.
The lawsuit would request the removal of the Title IX charges from the boys’ records, an immediate discontinuation of the ongoing suspension of the student who is still enrolled in the district, and compensation for “severe emotional, reputational, and educational harm” inflicted on the families.
The boys’ parents have expressed their issues with the punishment handed to their sons. “This isn’t just about our sons; it’s about every child in Loudoun County, also. If the district can weaponize Title IX in this way, no family is safe,” said the father of the boy who still attends school in the district.
A family member of the boy who has moved out said the boys are being forced to focus on the wrong thing. “Our boys have endured enormous emotional pain and mental anguish. Our boys should be focused on learning, not battling false accusations from the very system meant to protect them.”
Josh Hetzler, FFLC’s Senior Legal Counsel, also stated, “These punishments could devastate their academic and career futures, placing an undeserved stain on their reputations for years to come. We will not stop fighting until these boys are vindicated.”
Ian Prior, senior counsellor at America First Legal, has also stated that the LCPS has illegally weaponised federal law. “We look forward to pursuing full justice for these boys, putting an end to LCPS’s systemic and intentional deprivation of the constitutional rights of its students,” he added.