Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares says he has referred his investigation into Loudoun County Public School’s handling of an incident in a high school boys locker room to the U.S. departments of Education and Justice.
In a news release Monday, Miyares said LCPS initiated a “retaliatory Title IX investigation” against three male students at Stone Bridge High School, “after they expressed sincere religious objections to LCPS Policy 8040, which allows access to sex-separated facilities based on ‘gender identity.'”
Miyares began his investigation in early May, after WTOP’s partners at 7News reported the school system investigated three high school boys who said they felt “uncomfortable” with a transgender student, who identifies as male, changing clothes in a boys’ locker room. The transgender student was accused of videotaping the boys’ discussion in the locker room.
According to Loudoun County Public School policy 8655, “Photography, audio, or video recording is prohibited in bathrooms, locker rooms, changing areas, or clinics.”
Monday’s news release, which did not include a link to the report Miyares forwarded to the federal government, said the school division “appears to be punishing those who hold and express faith-based views.”
Miyares said the investigation shows “a disturbing misuse of authority by Loudoun County Public Schools, where students appear to have been been targeted not for misconduct, but for expressing their discomfort for being forced to share a locker room with a member of the opposite sex.”
“Title IX was never meant to used as a weapon against free speech or religious convictions,” Miyares said.
The news release from Miyares said the investigation has been referred to U.S. Department of Education for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, “for further investigation and appropriate action.”
Contacted by WTOP about Miyares’ referral, LCPS spokesman Dan Adams said the school system continues to focus on following applicable law and ensuring all students are safe.
“LCPS is not in a position to provide comment on the Attorney General’s investigation or its purported findings at this time,” Adams said.
He said LCPS learned about the investigation from Miyares news release and media coverage, and “was not provided an opportunity to meaningfully participate in any such investigation, and, to date, no findings have been shared with LCPS.”
In an earlier statement on May 6, Adams said the school system “would not investigate or discipline students based on their personal opinions, thoughts, or beliefs, provided those expressions do not violate policies prohibiting hate speech, discriminatory language, threats, or other forms of harmful or disruptive conduct.
The school system said it investigates and may take disciplinary action when student behavior violates LCPS’ student rights and responsibility handbook, and the student code of conduct. However, since the matter could result in discipline, the school system hasn’t publicly commented on the specifics of the investigation.
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