Feds To Cut $3.4M From TJ School Amid Fight With Fairfax District: Report

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A threat by federal officials to withhold funding to Fairfax County Public Schools amid a dispute over policies on bathroom and locker room use based on gender could cut more than $3 million from the budget of Virginia's most prestigious public school.

The U.S. Department of Education confirmed to WTOP that it plans to deny the certification of magnet school grant applications, which would result in a cut of about $3.4 million to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria.

The confirmation came after Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on social media that the DOE would not certify that magnet schools in New York City, Chicago and Fairfax County were "following the law when they are clearly not."

The Department of Education gave Fairfax County schools until 5 p.m. Friday to comply.

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The development is the latest in the ongoing dispute between the Trump administration and Fairfax County Public Schools.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights notified Fairfax County Public Schools and four other Northern Virginia 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.

America First Legal, a conservative firm founded by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, had sought a federal investigation into the Northern Virginia school districts' policies. The group previously raised concerns about the policies allowing biological males into female bathrooms and locker rooms.

The federal government threatened to withhold federal money if the school districts did not revoke their policies. While many funds for Virginia school districts come from localities and the state, the federal government provides money for Title I schools, special education and nutrition programs.

However, all five school districts reaffirmed their policies by Aug. 15. As reported by The Washington Post, the Virginia Department of Education will start to seek to remove federal funds from the five noncompliant school districts.

Arlington Public Schools and Fairfax County Public Schools later filed a lawsuit to resolve their dispute with the Department of Education, but a judge denied the request to issue a preliminary injunction that would have prevented officials from withholding federal money from the school districts.

Both districts have since appealed the judge's decision.