Overview
- The DOJ filed suit on Dec. 8 and moved to intervene in S.W. et al. v. Loudoun County School Board, now pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
- The complaint targets Policy 8040, which permits students to use facilities based on asserted gender identity and allegedly compels acceptance of that framework, asserting Equal Protection and Free Exercise violations.
- The case stems from a March incident at Stone Bridge High School in which a biologically female student entered the boys’ locker room and recorded students, after which two Christian boys who objected were suspended for 10 days and ordered to complete a “Comprehensive Student Support Plan.”
- Loudoun County Public Schools dispute the allegations, asserting the boys harassed the transgender student and that the recording was made to support a Title IX complaint.
- The DOJ action follows a September finding by the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights that the district discriminated against male students and a referral from Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares after a state investigation.