Department of Education says pro-trans policies in 5 Northern Virginia school districts violate Title IX.
The U.S. Department of Education has warned the school districts of Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William that they could lose federal funding or face legal action if they do not roll back policies allowing transgender students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity.
The investigations, launched in February after a complaint from America First Legal — a group founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller — alleges the policies give transgender students more rights than cisgender students under Title IX.
The Education Department has recently stepped up challenges to pro-transgender school policies nationwide, even declaring June, traditionally recognized as Pride Month, as “Title IX Month” and pledging to roll back policies affirming transgender students.
On July 25, the department’s Office for Civil Rights said the policies — some dating to the Obama era and others adopted under Biden — violate Title IX and “have been trampling on the rights of students in the service of an extreme political ideology.”
The Education Department said the districts have 10 days to “voluntarily agree” to a resolution or face losing federal funds and possible referral to the Justice Department, citing a Trump-era order that recognizes only two sexes.
The resolution would force the districts to rescind pro-transgender policies, issue a memo requiring future rules to enforce sex-segregated facilities based on birth sex, and adopt “biology-based” definitions of “male” and “female” when enforcing Title IX.
The five districts, which educate about a third of Virginia’s public school students, are in liberal-leaning areas that resisted Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s “parental rights” agenda. His administration introduced “model policies” requiring schools to inform parents if a student comes out as transgender and to change a student’s records only with written parental consent. Even with parental approval, teachers could refuse to use a student’s preferred pronouns based on personal beliefs.
The policies also required students to use facilities matching their sex at birth, but allowed transgender students to use single-stall or unisex bathrooms.
The model policies sparked protests from parents and students, thousands of whom staged walkouts across Virginia. The five districts ultimately rejected the policies, citing a federal appeals court ruling in former Virginian Gavin Grimm’s case that found transgender bathroom bans violate Title IX.
It is unclear whether repealing the policies would hold up in court, as Virginia school districts remain bound by the 4th Circuit’s ruling in the Grimm case. Complying with the Education Department’s resolution could invite new lawsuits from transgender or LGBTQ advocacy groups.
The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the constitutionality of transgender “bathroom bans.”
Officials in the five districts told the Washington Post that they are reviewing the Education Department’s findings while trying to reassure families that transgender students will not face discrimination or lose accommodations.
Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia’s largest district, said in a statement that it “remains committed to fostering a safe, supportive, welcoming, and inclusive environment for all students and staff.”
Loudoun County Public Schools said staff “will continue to ensure full compliance with state and federal laws” while maintaining an environment “where every student can thrive and reach their fullest potential.”
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About half the girls on a high school cross-country team in Southwest Washington refused to race in protest of a transgender teammate. The October 13 walk-off at Camas High School went viral as state voters consider banning trans athletes from girls' and women's sports. The transgender runner had competed on the boys' team earlier in the season.
Video of the walk-off, posted online by a local anti-trans activist, spread widely through right-wing outlets and figures including former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines and influencer Brandi Kruse.
The trans runner, a junior, placed 76th in a boys' junior varsity 5,000-meter race on September 5. After joining the girls' team, she finished second in a junior varsity race on September 26 and first in a varsity race on September 29, both at the same distance. She has since competed in three additional meets, according to Seattle NPR affiliate KUOW.
Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, we asked Metro Weekly readers what feels most at stake, which issues are shaping their votes, and how the political climate has affected them. Their responses, edited for length and clarity, explore transgender rights, marriage equality, healthcare, and personal safety, and what they want others to understand about their lives.
What feels most at stake for you and the LGBTQ community in this year’s midterm elections?
TOM BELL, 69, Aurora, Colo., Bisexual: The Constitution of the United States of America. Donald Trump is regularly violating the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 22nd Amendments, and I probably missed a few. Without the Constitution, America no longer exists.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is drawing praise from LGBTQ advocates for criticizing Democrats who have sought to distance themselves from transgender rights.
At a town hall hosted by the progressive campus group More Perfect University, a transgender student from the University of Southern Maine asked Ocasio-Cortez to respond to concerns that some trans people "feel that we have been abandoned by the Democratic Party, that we are a losing issue, that it's not worth defending us."
Her question followed reports of Democrats embracing right-wing framing on issues such as transgender inclusion in sports and Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care, or shifting to other issues to avoid discussing them.
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