The Department of Education (DOE) has pressured Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) along with four other school divisions to comply with a resolution to resolve alleged violations of Title IX, which specifically has to do with policy 8040. The DOE declared LCPS “high risk” and has threatened to cut federal funding to LCPS for their non-compliance. The School Board took a vote on whether or not LCPS needs to comply with the DOE’s demands, with the majority of the board (5-4) voting in favor of maintaining the current policy.
The policy in question encompasses the rights of transgender gender-expansive students within the LCPS community. The DOE argued that policy 8040 is in violation of Title IX and inhibits the rights of other students by letting transgender students use bathrooms and locker rooms of their consistent gender identity. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Craig Trainer, stated in a press release that Loudoun County’s policy “compromises safety, and infringes upon the dignity and privacy interests to which students are entitled.”
The validity of this claim is put under heavy scrutiny given the legal precedent that has been set regarding policy 8040. The decision in Grimm v. Gloucester establishes that transgender students are well within their rights to use the bathroom of their consistent gender identity. “That is what the law says, plain and simple. There’s really very little room for interpreting that law because it’s written so clearly,” Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence said. The DOE did not discuss this case in their press release…