Loudoun County Public Schools is facing criticism over its handling of one of the first disputes to emerge involving a biological female, who identifies as a male, using gender-specific facilities that do not correspond to her sex at birth.
Much of the public debate surrounding gender issues has focused on biological males entering spaces or competing in sports meant for women. However, the most recent incident centers on a biological female student at Stone Bridge High School in Virginia using the boys’ locker room.
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Governor Youngkin said in a statement, “It’s deeply concerning to read reports of yet another incident in Loudoun County schools where members of the opposite sex are violating the privacy of students in locker rooms. Even more alarming, the victims of this violation are the ones being investigated — this is beyond belief.”
Mr. Youngkin noted that his administration “issued model policies that (1) unless federal law requires otherwise, require students to use the locker room corresponding to their sex, and (2) require parental notification if a student is permitted to use a locker room that differs from their biological sex and allow parents to opt their child out and use alternative facilities.”
He added he asked the attorney general, Jason Miyares, to launch an investigation.
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A spokesman for Loudoun County Public Schools, Dan Adams, told the Sun that the initial report about the incident contains “false and misleading information.” He also said the district “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.”
However, Mr. Adams said the district will not “discuss the specifics of the incident publicly.” He also criticized the attorney general for “rely[ing] solely on this media report to publicly criticize LCPS.”
ABC 7 reported Monday about the Title IX investigation. The report said that the female student at Stone Bridge High School, who identifies as male, has been “using the boys’ locker room for some time now.”
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The incident under investigation reportedly occurred in March when the biologically female student used her phone to record the three high school boys. One of the students was recorded saying he was “uncomfortable.”
The school district has a policy that prohibits video or audio recordings in locker rooms. However, a father of one of the three boys says the school is investigating his son for expressing discomfort with a female being in the locker room.
He told ABC 7, “I don’t think my son should be punished for expressing his First Amendment right and being able to ask questions.”
“They were having a conversation with their peer group. They weren’t directly asking or interacting with this other student, and just the fact that they can’t ask those simple questions, and then if they do, they’re being punished in a way where now we have some serious charges that can affect his future here going forward,” he said.
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The free speech advocacy organization, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, criticized the school district, writing on X, “A transgender student reportedly violated public school policy by recording three high school boys talking in the boys’ locker room. But the school district isn’t investigating the student who recorded others in a private space — it’s investigating the boys for questioning, among themselves, ‘why there was a female in the males’ locker room.’”
It added that if “that’s all the students said,” it would be a violation of their First Amendment rights to punish them.
* Original Article:
https://www.nysun.com/article/rare-case-of-a-biological-female-using-the-boys-locker-room-is-roiling-a-virginia-school-district