DOJ Sues Loudoun County School Board, Saying Policy Violated Two Christian Students’ Rights

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the Loudoun County School Board of violating the constitutional rights of two Christian students by enforcing a gender-identity policy that, the DOJ says, punished them for their religious beliefs.

According to the complaint, two male students at Stone Bridge High School were suspended for 10 days after they reported that a female classmate allegedly entered the boys’ locker room and recorded audio and video of boys who were present. Several students reported the incident, including the two who later faced disciplinary action.

The DOJ’s filing contends that school officials applied Policy 8040 — the district’s gender-identity regulation — in a way that effectively required students and staff to "accept and promote gender ideology," even when doing so conflicted with their religious convictions. The complaint says the two students were found to have committed "sex-based discrimination" and "sexual harassment" after they complained about the locker-room incident.

As discipline, the district suspended the students for 10 days and required them to participate in a "Comprehensive Student Support Plan," the suit says. The Justice Department argues these actions violated the students’ rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and infringed their rights to free exercise of religion and free speech under the First Amendment.

"Students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. "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."

The Loudoun County School Board did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The DOJ’s complaint seeks relief for the students and asks the court to enjoin the district’s application of Policy 8040 as described in the filing.

What Happens Next: The lawsuit initiates a federal legal challenge. If the court agrees with the DOJ’s allegations, the district could be required to change how it applies its gender-identity policy and to provide remedies for the students involved.