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A Virginia school district is being investigated after it launched a sexual harassment investigation against three high school male students who reportedly complained about the presence of a biological female in the boys’ locker room.
Attorney General Jason Miyares announced earlier this week that the state will investigate Loudoun County Public Schools for launching a Title IX investigation against the students after expressing that they were “uncomfortable” when a biological female changed clothes in the boys’ locker room.
The Loudon County School Board policy allows students to use school bathrooms and locker rooms according to gender identity, rather than biological sex, WJLA-TV reports.
The policy also prohibits video and audio recordings in locker rooms.
The young male students are being investigated because of a video recording the transgender student submitted of their conversation in the locker room.
Seth Wolfe is a parent of one of the students. He withheld his name in speaking to WJLA-TV, but his attorney later confirmed to Mercury News that Wolfe was the father who spoke on behalf of his son.
“He was questioning why there was a female in the males’ locker room,” the father said.
“I don’t think my son should be punished for expressing his First Amendment right and being able to ask questions,” he told WJLA-TV. “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.”
Wolfe expressed outrage that his child was facing serious consequences for sharing his opinion, but the transgender student is allegedly flying under the radar, even though she violated the policy of recording his son in the locker room.
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“My 15-year-old son is being unfairly targeted for simply asking a basic question that any boy would be asking in that situation. It’s astonishing that Loudoun school officials are subjecting him to a formal investigation for a bogus charge that could derail his life,” he said.
The Founding Freedoms Law Center is representing Wolfe’s son and is criticizing the school district for its bathroom policy. They add that LCPS is also currently under formal investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for its policies related to gender identity.
“This is yet another egregious example of how LCPS continues to defy state law on transgender policies as well as President Trump’s recent executive orders. These high school boys did absolutely nothing wrong, and LCPS needs to end this baseless investigation immediately,” said Josh Hetzler, Legal Counsel for Founding Freedoms Law Center.
This is not the first time LCPS has made headlines for its policies.
As CBN News reported, the school division faced criticism and a $30 million lawsuit in 2021 for how it failed to respond to an alleged sexual assault of a girl committed by a teenage boy who entered the girls’ bathroom wearing a skirt.
A Virginia juvenile court judge found the transgender teen guilty in that case, but the family of the victim claims the superintendent at that time lied to the public to cover up what occurred.
Wolfe says the school district’s policies on inclusion are harming children.
“They’re at a young age,” Wolfe said. “They are not comfortable with their own bodies yet, and then to be subjugated, to have someone else, a little bit opposite gender, to be around that it really does start to create issues and questioning of who’s protecting us and who’s keeping us safe, and who’s making these decisions that are affecting not only our future, but actually our experience in high school.”
Meanwhile, Governor Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares quickly condemned LCPS’s actions.
“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,” said Youngkin. “Even more alarming, the victims of this violation are the ones being investigated—this is beyond belief.”
“Students who express legitimate concerns about sharing locker rooms with individuals of the opposite biological sex should not be subjected to harassment or discrimination claims,” he added.
Miyares expressed that he believes LCPS’s policies defy common sense.
“This is just the latest example of what happens when school boards disregard common sense. The safety, dignity, and privacy of every student in Virginia should be non-negotiable. This is about safety and privacy, not political correctness — and it’s time Loudoun County recognized that,” he said.
CBN News has reached out to Loudoun County Public Schools for comment.
Board Chair Melinda Mansfield and Superintendent Aaron Spence said they “reject any characterization that implies our schools are unsafe or that we fail to protect the rights of all students.”
“LCPS also complies with federal Title IX regulations, which require the investigation of formal complaints. We remain committed to upholding the rights of students established under applicable federal and state law and will continue to create and nurture an environment that is welcoming and accepting for all students, so that everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow and succeed,” they added.
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