The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has launched an investigation into Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) following reports that a trans-identified high school student secretly recorded dozens of male classmates in school bathroom stalls.
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According to Local ABC 7 reporter Nick Minock, who broke the story earlier this month, the secret bathroom recordings at Freedom High School may have been going on for as long as three years.
“Sources tell me that Loudoun County Public Schools knew about a student recording naked boys underneath school bathroom stalls a lot sooner than they’re letting on,” Minock reported on May 12.
The ABC 7 News reporter also posted on X that the accused student is “transgender.”
“The Loudoun County student who has been videotaping and photographing 40+ students under bathroom stalls as they use the bathroom at school is transgender, multiple sources told me,” Minock reported on May 11.
Fallout from the shocking story continued into this week, with the school reportedly having to close the boys’ bathroom because graffiti in the form of a student tally of potential victims appeared on the wall.
“Students have reached out and have told me their concerns about what has been going on in relation to the recordings and LCPS’s handling of the incidents,” Minock posted on X, Friday.
A Freedom High School student sent the reporter the photo below of the bathroom graffiti, asking “who was vicimized(sic) by (redacted).”
The responses indicate that up to 95 students believed they were recorded by the suspect. About 20 of the teens indicated that they didn’t know, “i hope not.” Only 18 students indicated that they believed they had not been victimized.
The question isn’t just “who was victimized?” It’s also: When did LCPS know? What actions were taken? And why do students feel they have to go to a reporter for help instead of school admin? commented the Loudoun Parents Coalition on X. “Why is LCPS putting the identity of one student above the safety of ALL the students?!”
The school and local law enforcement launched investigations into the matter late last month, and the school has promised to be “committed to transparency.”
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But Minock reported that Loudoun County Public Schools has not been transparent about its bathroom safety issues at all.
“Public Information Officer Dan Adams says he sent us information about a student recording 40+ naked boys in school bathrooms. That’s not true,” the ABC 7 reporter posted on X, May 13. “I’ve been emailing LCPS with questions before we broke the story on Monday. Adams and LCPS have not responded to my questions and emails.”
The Department of Education’s investigation will reportedly examine whether the school division violated Title IX by failing to prevent and properly respond to allegations of sexual harassment.
It’s the third time in about a year that the Education Department has put Loudoun County Schools on notice.
Kimberly Richey, Assistant Secretary at the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, lambasted the school district on Thursday for is failing to protect its students.
“Loudoun County yet again appears to demonstrate its profound dereliction of responsibility to protect its students’ privacy and dignity,” she told Minock.
Last year, the Office for Civil Rights determined that LCPS had violated Title IX by allowing students to use intimate facilities based on gender identity rather than biological sex, and by retaliating against male students who reported concerns about a female student in male facilities.
LCPS is one of five Northern Virginia school districts accused of violating Title IX by allowing males to use female bathrooms and locker rooms and vice versa.
Despite the Department’s scrutiny and threats to withhold federal dollars, the school districts continue to stand by their trans bathroom policies.
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