Loudoun County Public Schools has denied an appeal from two students and their families who were found responsible for sexual harassment after protesting a classmate’s presence in the boys' locker room, a decision that will send the matter to federal court, the families' lawyers said.
Earlier this year the district launched a Title IX sexual harassment investigation after video emerged of two boys in a Loudoun County high school locker room complaining to one another about a student who is biologically female and identifies as transgender using the boys' facility. The investigation concluded the boys committed sexual harassment, imposed 10-day suspensions and recorded the finding on their permanent disciplinary records.
The families retained the Founding Freedoms Law Center and attorney Josh Hetzler and appealed the district’s Title IX ruling. After the district issued a final denial of that appeal this week, the Founding Freedoms Law Center said it will file a federal lawsuit in the Alexandria Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, in partnership with America First Legal.
According to a press release from the Founding Freedoms Law Center, the suit will seek to remove the Title IX findings from the students’ records, to halt the suspensions immediately, and to secure compensation for what the families describe as "severe emotional, reputational, and educational harm." The release called the finding "a false Title IX violation," language that was attributed to the law center.
"This isn’t just about our sons — it’s about every child in Loudoun County. If the district can weaponize Title IX in this way, no family is safe," Seth Wolfe, the father of one of the students, said in the release. Renae Smith, the mother of the other student, said her family ultimately moved out of state following the incident and that the boys "have endured enormous emotional pain and mental anguish."
Parents and their counsel told Fox News Digital that unclear district policies and inadequate communication about restroom and locker-room procedures contributed to the dispute. They said administrators were not responsive when students raised concerns about privacy. The district launched its Title IX inquiry after the video, recorded by the student who identified as transgender, was made public.
Loudoun County Public Schools is among several Northern Virginia districts that the U.S. Department of Education has flagged for review over their policies concerning transgender students' access to restrooms and locker rooms, federal records show. The district did not respond to repeated requests for comment from reporters covering the parents' appeal and the upcoming lawsuit.
The families' lawyers said they will ask the federal court to vacate the Title IX findings and to provide other relief linked to the suspensions and disciplinary records. The school district's decision to uphold the findings leaves the students with disciplinary marks that the parents argue will harm their educational prospects.
America First Legal, a conservative legal organization, confirmed it would join the case on the families' behalf, according to the families' legal team. No court filing had been made public at the time of the appeal denial, and a federal complaint had not yet been posted in the Eastern District of Virginia docket.
The dispute in Loudoun County adds to a broader national debate over school policies for transgender students and how complaints and privacy concerns are handled under federal civil-rights law. The forthcoming federal lawsuit will test whether the district’s Title IX process and disciplinary outcomes in this case can withstand judicial review.