The Loudoun County Public Schools system in Virginia has once again found itself at the center of controversy. This time, it’s over a recorded locker room conversation and the resulting disciplinary actions that have drawn scrutiny from the state attorney general’s office and federal agencies.
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The issue began with a cell phone video capturing a tense moment inside a Stone Bridge High School locker room. On the video, a group of boys can be heard who seem surprised and uncomfortable as a biological female student who identifies as male records their private conversation.
Josh Hetzler of the Founding Freedoms Law Center explained, “The locker room video expresses just what any 10th grade boys would say. ‘Why is there a girl in there? I’m uncomfortable.’ But we don’t even know who says what in the video.”
The controversy revolves around Loudoun County’s Policy 8040, adopted by the school board in 2021. This policy allows students to use restrooms and locker rooms aligned with their gender identity. Another school policy also strictly prohibits recordings in these spaces.
Renae Smith, mother of one of the students involved, said, “I think there’s boys across the entire country that feel deeply uncomfortable sharing a locker room with the opposite sex, but they’re terrified to speak up because look what happens.”
The transgender student who recorded the video reportedly received an in-school suspension for violating the no-recording policy. Meanwhile, the district launched a Title IX investigation into the three boys. Two are Christian and one is Muslim and they say their objections to sharing locker rooms with a biologically female student are based on their religious beliefs.
Seth Wolfe, father of one of the accused students, stated, “We believe God made male and female and nothing in between. That’s just how it is.”
Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools, and violations can carry serious consequences for students.
Hetzler warns, “A Title IX violation will be on the records of these boys going forward. And it could really stigmatize them in their future careers and their college aspirations.”
The district’s handling of the case has sparked public backlash from both sides, with an angry crowd packing a recent school board meeting to voice their opinions.
This is not Loudoun’s first high-profile controversy tied to gender policy. In 2021, the same year Policy 8040 was adopted, a male student wearing a skirt sexually assaulted a girl in a school restroom. The victims’ parents filed a $30 million lawsuit against the district. After being transferred to another Loudoun school, he attacked a different girl.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin criticized the district during a television interview, saying, “This is the exact same school that covered up the sexual assaults of two young women.”
Youngkin directed Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares to investigate the conduct of Loudoun County Public Schools following the locker room incident and whether it violated the rights of the three boys involved.
Miyares stated, “The idea that they would weaponize Title IX against three students for just stating basic biological fact, it really shows this potential slippery slope.” His office’s report found Loudoun launched a “retaliatory” Title IX investigation that “appears to target students for expressing faith-based views.”
“They were essentially told, be quiet, shut up, don’t speak, just comply,” Miyares said.
Miyares says the case has also been referred to the federal government. “They are going to have their own investigation,” he said.
The findings from the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice could reshape how schools implement gender-related policies in Virginia and beyond.
“If these boys are found guilty just for questioning why there’s a girl in their locker room, that precedent could apply anywhere in America,” Hetzler warned.
Loudoun County Public Schools declined CBN’s interview request, but on their website state that they would not discipline students based on personal opinions or beliefs, provided those expressions do not violate policies against hate speech, discriminatory language, threats, or disruptive conduct.
While the sexual harassment charge against the Muslim student was dropped, new sex-based discrimination charges were filed against the two Christian students.
“All three boys received letters with the exact same allegations. It just doesn’t add up,” said Hetzler.
Mohamed, father of the Muslim student, added, “If they don’t have any solid evidence that these boys did anything wrong, they should just drop the case and move on.”
The Loudoun case is part of a nationwide pattern of disputes over gender identity and religious rights in schools. Similar battles are playing out from Maryland parents suing over LGBTQ curricula to pronoun disputes in Texas and bathroom policy clashes in California.
Loudoun County’s case could become a pivotal test in defining how public schools protect civil rights without infringing on religious freedom. “What we’re trying to do is just bring back common sense into the educational system,” Miyares said.
Depending on the outcome of the federal investigation, possible actions could include disciplinary measures against Loudoun officials, federal sanctions, or lawsuits challenging the district’s policies and handling of the case.
The U.S. Department of Education has not yet responded to our request for comment.
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