Fairfax County Public Schools Move to Bankrupt Sexual Assault Survivor

On September 19, 2025, Fairfax County Public Schools will walk into the U.S. Courthouse in Alexandria with a choice: double down on punishing a survivor—or stand for the values it claims to uphold.

At issue is a motion that would require a 26-year-old law student—who was sexually assaulted at age 12 while attending Rachel Carson Middle School—to pay $250,000 in discretionary court costs after losing a Title IX case. Her appeal is still pending in the Fourth Circuit, yet FCSB is asking the court to saddle her with crushing debt before appellate judges have even reviewed whether she received a fair trial.

For survivors, advocates, and many in our community, this is more than a legal dispute. It is a test of whether Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will honor its stated commitment to equity and trauma-informed care—or use the legal system to intimidate those who dare speak out.

Already, over 650 concerned citizens have signed a petition urging FCPS to drop this attempt to silence survivors. Here is the link:

https://www.change.org/p/stop-...

A Survivor’s Fight for Accountability

In 2011, according to court papers, “Kate” was repeatedly assaulted by older youths while a student at Rachel Carson Middle School in Herndon, VA. One of the ring leaders was an older student with a known history of misconduct, including incidents of sexual exposure in class. Despite a positive rape kit, a police report, and complaints to administrators, Kate was placed on homebound instruction while the perpetrator faced no meaningful consequences. Her family eventually left Virginia.

Kate’s courage in filing a complaint triggered a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which concluded that FCPS may have violated federal law. The resulting Title IX settlement forced the district to revamp its sexual harassment policies. Yet systemic failures persisted.

Over the past decade, FCPS has faced multiple federal lawsuits alleging mishandling of sexual abuse complaints. Since 2019, three FCPS principals have been criminally charged for failing to report suspected child abuse as required by law. In 2019, a federal judge even recommended sanctions against FCPS for failing to follow the very OCR settlement that Kate’s case prompted.

And all of this was on top of decades of systemically failing to revoke the teaching license of educators who harmed children, with known abusers going on to commit further harms.

A Trial That Didn’t Tell the Whole Story

In 2024, Kate’s civil rights lawsuit finally went to trial after years of litigation, including a successful appeal that preserved her right to proceed under a pseudonym. For six weeks, jurors heard testimony from witnesses and experts describing Kate’s trauma and the school’s inadequate response. A former assistant superintendent even admitted the district had not followed best practices.

But key evidence and expert testimony were excluded, and jury instructions failed to capture the full scope of Title IX’s protections. Advocates argue that what happened was not a fair airing of the facts, but a constrained, partial version of the truth—one that left a survivor without justice.

Kate is now appealing the verdict, represented by the Duke Law School Appellate Clinic.

Runaway Legal Costs

The case has also raised serious questions about FCPS’s stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Under the direction of John Foster, FCPS’s General Counsel, the school system has spent more than $14 million on outside lawyers fighting Kate’s case—much of it paid to the K Street law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth. Hunton Andrews Kurth, formerly Hunton Williams, was the successor of a law firm that fought against desegregation in public schools in the seminal Brown v. Board of Education case.

Attorneys Ryan Bates, Sona Rewari, Kevin Elliker, and Michael Kinney have led the defense, drawing criticism for “aggressive and abusive” tactics, including seeking to compel Kate, a sexual assault survivor, to undergo a pelvic exam.

Critics argue that this money could have been spent improving Title IX compliance, hiring additional counselors, or strengthening protections for students. Instead, it has been used to crush a survivor who sought to hold the system accountable.

Punishment, Not Justice

Rather than wait for the appeal, FCPS has filed a motion demanding Kate pay $250,000 in discretionary court costs. Courts are not required to award such costs, and in civil rights cases they often do not—especially when claims are brought in good faith, raise significant legal questions, and the plaintiff cannot pay.

Kate checks all of those boxes. She survived multiple motions to dismiss, presented expert evidence, and raised serious constitutional questions that appellate courts have never squarely addressed. Far from a frivolous case, her lawsuit was a good-faith effort to hold a public institution accountable and protect future students.

A Defining Moment for Fairfax

This case is about more than one young woman. It is about whether any student will feel safe coming forward in the future. If FCPS wins its cost motion, it will send a message to survivors across Virginia: speak up, and you may pay the price—literally.

FCPS claims to value inclusion, safety, and trauma-informed care. Now is the time to prove it. We call on the School Board to withdraw its motion for costs and to commit publicly never to seek costs against survivors who bring Title IX claims.

What You Can Do

Community members have a chance to make a difference before the September 19 hearing.

Sign the petition. Share it with neighbors. Write respectfully to your School Board member. Post on social media.

Show FCPS that this community stands with survivors, not against them.

Every signature sends a clear message: Fairfax County will not stay silent while a school board tries to financially punish a survivor for seeking justice.

Together, we can make sure that the message students hear is one of support, accountability, and hope—not fear.