Education Department cuts direct funding to five Virginia school districts over ‘pro-trans’ policies

The Department of Education said Aug. 19 it placed five northern Virginia school districts on “high-risk” payment status, cutting off their direct access to federal funds after they refused to scrap policies that allow boys to use girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms.

Alexandria City, Arlington, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and Prince William County schools must now cover expenses up front and apply for federal reimbursement, the department said in an Aug. 19 press release. 

The restriction covers more than $50 million in department funds and is meant to ensure the money is used legally, the department said. 

On July 25, the department’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) ruled the districts’ policies violate Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in schools, CatholicVote reported. OCR gave them 10 days to comply by changing their policies. By Aug. 15, all five had refused. 

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in the release the schools “are choosing to abide by woke gender ideology in place of federal law” and “must now prove they are using every single federal dollar for a legal purpose.” 

She called the measures “necessary” because the districts “have stubbornly refused to provide a safe environment for young women in their schools.”

As CatholicVote previously reported, the districts allow students to use facilities based on “gender identity” rather than sex. 

Loudoun County, in particular, has faced repeated scandals. 

Earlier this year, two boys at Stone Bridge High School in Loudoun County were suspended for objecting to a female student using the boys’ locker room, CatholicVote reported Aug. 19. In 2021, Loudoun County was accused of covering up a rape by a male student wearing a skirt in the girls’ bathroom, according to a May 28 CatholicVote report. The boy was later transferred to a different high school, where he allegedly assaulted another female student.