Alexandria School District Joins Transgender Bathroom Lawsuit Appeal Against Feds

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria City Public Schools is joining the appeal of a ruling that allows the federal government to cut funds over their gender identity bathroom policies.

On Sept. 5, U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. denied a request by the Arlington County and Fairfax County school boards to issue a preliminary injunction and/or temporary restraining order that would have prevented officials from denying federal money to the school districts over their policies allowing bathroom use by gender identity. Politico reporter Josh Gerstein first shared documents indicating the Alexandria City School Board joined a Fairfax County Public Schools appeal of the ruling.

The U.S. Department of Education gave an Aug. 15 deadline to five Northern Virginia school districts — Fairfax County Public Schools, Loudoun County Public Schools, Prince William County Public Schools, Arlington Public Schools and Alexandria City Public Schools — to decide whether to keep policies allowing bathroom and locker room policies based on gender identity. All five districts reaffirmed their bathroom policies.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights had notified the five school districts on July 25 about the policies violating Title IX, a federal law prohibiting discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities receiving federal funding. However, the court appeal documents mention Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board case as the federal standard allowing their policies. That case involved a transgender student fighting a Virginia school district on allowing him to use the boy's bathroom that matches his gender identity. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of Gavin Grimm, who claimed the school district's action violated Title IX's Equal Protection Clause.

According to the appeal, the U.S. Department of Education and Secretary Linda McMahon are attempting to get the five districts to violate Title IX and the Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board precedent while standing to lose millions in federal funds. The federal funds are for special education and therapy for students with disabilities, transportation for homeless students, supports for students in Title I schools, career and technical education and assistance for English language learners.

The Alexandria City School Board's appeal noted that ACPS is particularly impacted with larges shares of English language learners and economically disadvantaged students. Federal funds represent an estimated 5.2 percent of the ACPS budget.

"Those funds also represent a significant proportion of [Alexandria City School Board]’s budget, the loss of which will result in significant cutbacks on services and programs that will result in immediate harm to the student population [Alexandria City School Board] serves," the documents read.

Since Aug. 19, the U.S. Department of Education has put the five Northern Virginia school districts on "high-risk status." That means federal funding to these districts can be requested through reimbursement only.