As some community members worry about the impacts of possible changes to school bathroom policies, the Department of Education is giving five Northern Virginia school districts more time to make those changes.
While some were hoping for a 90-day extension, the federal education agency told the districts they have until Aug. 15 to respond. It issued a notice calling for action within 10 days on July 25.
Now, Arlington, Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William counties, and the City of Alexandria, are weighing next steps. The Loudoun County School Board held a closed session meeting Monday. Prince William County’s school board has planned a similar meeting for Thursday.
The decision comes as the Department of Education said an investigation found the five districts’ existing policies violate Title IX, because they have antidiscrimination policies for students who identify as transgender, “which violate the sex-based protections of Title IX,” according to a news release.
The department told the districts to rescind policies that let students use “intimate facilities,” such as bathrooms, based on gender identity instead of sex. It also urged the divisions to adopt “biology-based definitions” for the terms “male” and “female.”
“It feels like it’s very targeted, very fearmongering and trying to really inhibit these kids’ ability to express themselves and have a comfortable school learning environment,” said one Fairfax County mother, whose student identifies as transgender and asked not to be named because of privacy concerns.
That mother said she’s considering alternative options for her daughter, a rising senior, for the upcoming school year. Currently, students can use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity, but the shift would mean her daughter has to rely on the one available bathroom she can use, she said.
Her daughter, who also asked not be named because of privacy concerns, said the situation “hurts, because it feels like you’re being separated and isolated, and being pushed aside just because you’re trying to be a normal person, and you’re trying to find a place for yourself, and there isn’t a place for you.”
They’re urging Fairfax County Public Schools to avoid making changes.
FCPS Pride is taking similar steps, because a change would “directly harm transgender and gender diverse students, sending a message that their rights, safety, and dignity are not valued,” the group said in a statement.
Not allowing students to use a bathroom based on their gender identity could result in bullying and harassment, the statement said.
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, meanwhile, said not following its directive could result in “imminent enforcement action,” including a referral to the Department of Justice.
The agency told WTOP it gave the school divisions an extension to make changes, but didn’t respond to a question about parent and student concerns.
In a separate statement, Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said it’s “time for Northern Virginia’s experiment with radical gender ideology and unlawful discrimination to come to an end.”
Loudoun County School Board Chair Melinda Mansfield said the board has “received a lot of information and will continue to process and evaluate this matter,” adding that it plans to discuss it at the next board meeting.
The Fairfax County mom, meanwhile, said the prospect of changes is “political noise that has a very real day-to-day impact on our family.”
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