The U.S. Department of Education found Loudoun County Public Schools violated federal civil rights legislation by neglecting to investigate sexual harassment accusations from two male students and retaliating against them during the grievance process.
The department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced Tuesday that Loudoun County broke Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs funded with federal money. The probe concerned a March 2025 incident at Stone Bridge High School where a biological female student who identifies as a male made an audio and video recording of two male students in a boys’ locker room.
The school district allowed the transgender student to use male-only facilities under its gender identity policy, federal officials stated. After the male students and their parents later filed formal complaints, the district disciplined the boys but failed to conduct a good-faith investigation, the department said.
Conversely, the district quickly responded to a different complaint lodged by the parent of the transgender student against the male students with the discovery of what federal authorities described as a “sex-based double standard.”
Loudoun County’s enthrallment with radical gender ideology has put its students in harm’s way time and again,” said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary of civil rights. “We urge Loudoun County to abandon its dependence on post-modern ideology and instead enforce the requirements of law by getting into compliance with Title IX.”.
The agency has given Loudoun County 10 days to sign a resolution agreement. The actions needed include rescinding the suspension of the boys, having employees draft formal apologies, revising disciplinary action to ensure fairness, and holding employee Title IX training.
The news follows widespread scrutiny of school policies across Northern Virginia. In July, the department concluded that five school divisions, including Loudoun County, had violated Title IX by granting students access to intimate facilities based on gender identity rather than biological sex. After those divisions refused to remedy the violations themselves, the department proceeded to suspend federal funding and designated them as “high-risk” entities in August.
More than $50 million in federal education funds are presently under the repayment umbrella, which mandates that districts prove compliance before they receive payment.
Over $50 million in federal education dollars are now reimbursed, so districts must comply before receiving payments.
The finding drawn by the department indicates the conflict between local school policy and federal civil rights law. Title IX was passed in 1972 to compels schools to treat sexual harassment complaints fairly and bans retribution.
Loudoun County Public Schools has not commented on the department’s findings.
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