Two high school students and their families successfully raised more than $125,000 this week to continue their lawsuit against Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS).
The important fundraising victory comes less than a week after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing the school district from punishing the boys for asking, “Why is there a girl in the boys’ locker room?”
LCPS found the two high school boys guilty of sex discrimination and sexual harassment in August after a female student improperly filmed them in the boys locker room saying:
- “Is there a girl in here?”
- “There’s a girl.”
- “I’m so uncomfortable there’s a girl”
- “That’s a female bro get out of here.”
The young woman repeatedly used the boys locker room under LCPS’ infamous Policy 8040, which allows students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their subjective “gender identity,” rather than their biological sex.
Founding Freedoms Law Center and America First Legal sued to overturn LCPS’ ruling in September on behalf of the boys and their families.
On October 10, Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted the boys’ request for a preliminary injunction, which prevents LCPS labelling them “sexual harassers” until their case against the district concludes.
It further prevents the district from enforcing a ten-day suspension on the one student still living in Loudoun County. The other student moved out of state in a futile attempt to avoid LCPS’ prejudiced judgment.
Judge Brinkema’s order also suggests the boys’ claims could stand up in court. They contend LCPS violated their constitutional right to free speech and equal treatment under the law by:
- Failing to segregate bathrooms and locker rooms by sex, as required by Title IX.
- Failing to accommodate religious objections to changing in front of a member of the opposite sex.
- Failing to punish the female student who initiated the complaint for violating district policy by filming in a locker room.
They further allege the district engaged in religious discrimination by dismissing an identical investigation against a Muslim student who was initially implicated in the young woman’s complaint.
Though Judge Brinkema ultimately sided with the boys and their families, he also threw up serious obstacles by requiring them to post a $125,000 bond to continue their suit against LCPS. The money will be used to help recoup the district’s legal costs if the boys lose in pretrial evidence discovery — before the case makes it back to Brinkema.
“This requirement that [our clients] put up the money to pay the government’s attorneys fees is certainly very unusual and unexpected, especially when the government acknowledged in court that its insurance policy is covering legal costs,” Josh Hetzler, Senior Counsel for Founding Fathers and one of the boys’ lawyers, told Fox.
Happily, the boys and their families have been able to raise more than enough funds. As of noon on Thursday, a fundraising campaign shared by the families had raised more than $129,000 dollars — with more than a day left to post the money.
More than half of the donations poured in in the last 24 hours.
Donors’ generosity will allow the families to continue combatting LCPS, which has been forced to reveal increasingly controversial facts about its “investigation” into the boys’ alleged conduct.
In an October 6 filing asking Judge Brinkema to deny the preliminary injunction, LCPS claimed it conducted 19 student interviews and 5 staff interviews confirming the boys had “relentlessly harassed” the female student for much of the school year. The district further argued the boys intended to harass, not defend their privacy, because they never disclosed their concerns to a teacher.
The boys allege otherwise in their complaint, arguing they expressed discomfort to at least two teachers, one of whom reportedly told them to stop making comments about a girl in the boys’ locker room.
Virginia Attorney General James Miyares confirmed the boys’ version of events in an amicus brief urging Judge Brinkema to issue the preliminary injunction. Miyares had investigated LCPS’ treatment of the boys in May, concluding the district had retaliated against them for expressing discomfort with changing in front of a girl.
Miyares reported LCPS to the federal Departments of Education and Justice in June. On September 16, the Department of Education (DOE) confirmed LCPS had violated Title IX, a federal statute prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded schools and education programs, by:
- Failing to properly respond to the boys’ complaint about a girl in the boys locker room.
- Failing to treat the boys’ complaint and the female students’ complaint equally.
- Retaliating against the boys for reporting sexual harassment.
DOE reiterated Title IX requires schools segregate sports, bathrooms and locker rooms by sex, not “gender identity.”
The Daily Citizen congratulates the Louden County boys, their families and their legal team on a successful day in court, despite significant adversity. We hope many others will follow.
The Daily Citizen will continue providing updates on this important story.
Additional Articles and Resources
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Federal Investigation Finds Loudoun County Violated Boys’ Title IX Rights
Loudoun County Boys Win Reprieve from Unjust Suspension
Poetic Justice: Virginia school district loses federal funding day after bogus suspension.
Loudoun County Schools Defy Education Department Over Multiple Title IX Violations
DoEd Finds Northern Virginia School Districts Violated Title IX
Irate Parents Excoriate Loudoun County Schools Superintendent and Board Over Sexual Abuse Coverup