The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday filed a lawsuit against the Loudoun County School Board in Virginia after a biologically female student was permitted to use the boys' locker room and male students who complained were subsequently disciplined, the department said.
The complaint asserts the board's gender policy — which allows transgender students to use facilities that correspond with their gender identity — amounts to a denial of equal protection on religious grounds by effectively compelling students and staff to accept what the Justice Department describes as a disputed "gender ideology."
Federal context and timeline
The suit follows several prior federal actions and reviews of Loudoun County policies. In July the U.S. Department of Education issued an order directing the district to change its policy or face potential consequences. In August the Loudoun County School Board voted to retain its policy allowing transgender students to use facilities that match their gender identity.
In September, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights concluded that Loudoun County schools discriminated against male students on the basis of sex, finding the district failed to adequately investigate complaints from two male students about "the presence of a member of the opposite sex in male-only intimate spaces" while thoroughly investigating a female student’s complaint about the boys.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin asked state Attorney General Jason Miyares in May to probe allegations that the school board had retaliated against students and parents who opposed the policy. In June, Miyares said his office had found instances in which Loudoun County Public Schools retaliated against students for raising concerns about sharing locker rooms with members of the opposite sex.
Justice Department statement
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said: "Students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate. Loudoun County’s decision to advance and promote gender ideology tramples on the rights of religious students who cannot embrace ideas that deny biological reality." Loudoun County Public Schools told Reuters it could not comment on matters tied to pending litigation.
Broader policy backdrop
The lawsuit is part of a broader pattern of legal actions taken under the Trump administration concerning transgender participation in public life. The administration issued a series of directives and executive actions that restricted transgender people’s service in the military, limited transgender participation in female sports, and sought to withhold federal funding from school programs it described as promoting "gender ideology."
The Justice Department’s complaint centers on constitutional and statutory claims tied to religious liberty and equal protection; the case is likely to further test the balance between anti‑discrimination protections for transgender students and religious‑freedom claims by other students and families.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
