NWLC Statement on U.S. Department of Education Action Against Northern Virginia School Districts

Washington, D.C.  — Today, the U.S. Department of Education placed five Northern Virginia school districts on high-risk and reimbursement-only status for having policies that allow students to use facilities consistent with their gender identity. The Northern Virginia districts have cited their obligations under federal and state law–clarified by the Fourth Circuit in the Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board decision from 2020–as justification for maintaining their current policies that are inclusive of transgender students.

In response, Shiwali Patel, senior director of safe and inclusive school at the National Women’s Law Center, issued the following statement:

“This is another shameful decision by Trump’s Department of Education that unlawfully targets school districts for creating safe and inclusive environments for transgender and gender-diverse students. Let’s be clear: Title IX protects transgender students. The Trump administration has no authority to change that. But the Department is placing five Virginia school districts on ‘high-risk’ status and restricting their federal funding based on its distorted interpretation of Title IX, making it harder for schools to serve their communities. These actions will, without a doubt, create unnecessary financial burdens for the school districts and will ultimately harm students, teachers, and families. ‘

“Transgender and gender-diverse students deserve—and are legally entitled to—safe, supportive, and non-discriminatory learning environments. Yet this administration is weaponizing Title IX to jeopardize the quality of education for all its students to advance its hateful and unlawful political agenda. We stand in solidarity with the Virginia school districts for defending the dignity and rights of their students.”