Education Dept places five Virginia school districts on high-alert status over transgender bathrooms

The Department of Education on Tuesday announced it was placing five northern Virginia school districts on "high-risk status" within the federal grant system, after they declined to obey the department's directive to change their policies regarding transgender students using bathrooms that align with their chosen gender identity. 

The school districts made their respective decisions to reject the department's Voluntary Resolution Agreement last week.

The Education Department found last month that Arlington Public Schools, Alexandria City Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools, Loudoun County Public Schools and the Prince William County Public Schools violated Title IX by allowing students access to "intimate, sex-segregated facilities" based on the students' chosen gender identity instead of their biological sex.

The department said the five districts will now be on "high-risk status" which means that federal funding will be done by reimbursement only. It is also beginning proceedings to suspend or terminate federal financial assistance to the schools. 

“States and school districts cannot openly violate federal law while simultaneously receiving federal funding with no additional scrutiny," Education Secretary Linda McMahon said. "The Northern Viriginia School Divisions that are choosing to abide by woke gender ideology in place of federal law must now prove they are using every single federal dollar for a legal purpose. 

"We have given these Northern Virginia School Divisions every opportunity to rectify their policies which blatantly violate Title IX," she continued. "Today’s accountability measures are necessary because they have stubbornly refused to provide a safe environment for young women in their schools.” 

The “high-risk” designation informs federal agencies that the entities failed to comply with the terms of their federal grant agreements, according to the department.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.