Northern Virginia school districts defy Education Department request to change bathroom policies

Scott Gelman | sgelman@wtop.com
August 15, 2025, 4:50 PM

Several Northern Virginia school districts said Friday they aren’t making plans to change their bathroom policies, defying a U.S. Department of Education request that accused existing practices of violating Title IX.

Prince William County, Arlington and City of Alexandria schools said they won’t make changes, citing disagreements with the federal agency’s interpretation of Title IX.

The move comes after the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights found policies letting students using facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity rather than biological sex violated Title IX. Friday was the deadline to respond to the inquiry. … Loudoun County’s school board voted 6-3 this week to push back on making changes.

In a statement Friday, Fairfax County Public Schools said it has asked OCR to “stop further action” and that it would not be signing the proposed resolution agreement, citing its alignment with Virginia law.

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Scott Gelman
Scott Gelman is a digital editor and writer for WTOP. A South Florida native, Scott graduated from the University of Maryland in 2019. During his time in College Park, he worked for The Diamondback, the school’s student newspaper.
sgelman@wtop.com