School board settles with boys accused of sexual harassment over transgender student locker room incident
A Northern Virginia school board has reportedly reached a settlement with the families of two male students who were investigated for sexual harassment and suspended after questioning why a female student was inside the boys' locker room.
According to a new report by ABC 7 News, a federal judge had ordered the parties to mediation, and court records show a settlement was reached. The terms were not disclosed.
"While we are not able to share specifics of the settlement agreement, what we can say is that our clients are very happy with the result," attorneys at Founding Freedoms Law Center, who represented the boys in court, wrote in a press announcement on March 3.
The case stems from a March 2025 incident in the boys’ locker room at Stone Bridge High School in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS). A female student, who identifies as male, recorded three male students in the locker room who expressed "confusion and discomfort" over sharing the boys' locker room with a biological female.
Under LCPS policy, students are allowed to use the locker room and restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
LCPS pursued a Title IX investigation and found two of the three students responsible for "sexual harassment" and discrimination. ABC7 reported the findings appeared on their student records and that the district ordered 10-day suspensions.
The school district dropped its Title IX claim against one of the students, who is Muslim, and brought additional Title IX violations against the two other students, who are Christian, according to their lawyers at the Founding Freedoms Law Center.
The students’ families sued the school board in federal court, seeking to block the suspensions and remove the Title IX findings from their sons’ records, ABC7 reported.
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In September, a federal judge granted the families emergency relief, blocking the district's disciplinary actions while the case moved forward, and the students were allowed to return to class.
The U.S. Department of Justice also sought to intervene and continue litigation against the school board, arguing the boys’ religious beliefs were violated.
On Friday, a federal judge denied the Justice Department's motion to intervene, calling the case closed after the parties reached a settlement.
According to the ABC7 report, "An attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice told the judge that the department has the authority under current statute to intervene despite the status of the case, and that the U.S. Congress intended to allow the federal government to defend people when their religious freedoms are violated."
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Loudoun County Public Schools declined to comment to Fox News Digital.
The Founding Freedoms Law Center and America First Legal celebrated the settlement.
"We’re glad that our clients and Loudoun County were able to reach an agreement that ends this litigation," Victoria Cobb, the president of Founding Freedoms Law Center, told ABC7. "We hope that, in the future, as a result of the attention brought to this situation and our efforts to help vindicate these boys, Loudoun County will have an even greater incentive to protect vulnerable students from the harms of gender ideology."
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Ian Prior, senior counsel at America First Legal, told Fox News Digital, "America First Legal is proud to have litigated this important case on behalf of our clients’ state and federal constitutional and statutory rights. We are pleased that we were able to successfully mediate this case and will continue to vigorously advocate for the rights of students, parents, and teachers, whether that be in Northern Virginia or anywhere else in America."