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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Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a "tip line" urging residents to report to state authorities people they believe are transgender for using restrooms that do not align with their sex assigned at birth -- a violation of Texas’ bathroom ban.
In a statement announcing the tip line on his office’s website, Paxton said the bathroom ban -- known as the "Texas Women's Privacy Act" -- is intended to protect women and girls from "mentally ill men wanting to violate their basic right to privacy" in restrooms, locker rooms, and other changing facilities.
A year ago, the National LGBTQ Task Force was girding to "hold the line," in a sense. Donald J. Trump had just won the presidential election with a plurality -- 49.8% -- of the popular vote, setting the stage for a January inauguration that would install an administration expected to be oppressively hostile to the country's LGBTQ community, particularly the Transgender community, as well as efforts promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The sweeping scope of that hostility, from discharging all Trans service members from the U.S. military to the pettiness of erasing rainbow crosswalks, transpired at breakneck speed.
As one of his final acts in office, outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced plans to distribute $2 million in "emergency funding" to roughly 20 organizations serving transgender, gender-nonconforming, and nonbinary New Yorkers.
The grants are intended to counter federal budget cuts and Trump administration efforts to block LGBTQ organizations -- particularly those serving transgender people -- from receiving federal funding, reports Gay City News.
The funding, the first of its kind in the nation, will be administered by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The money is intended to support community organizations providing services to gender-diverse communities, including "health and wellness, legal advocacy, youth and family support, safety and crisis response, community building, and economic empowerment," according to the release.
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