The U.S. Department of Education placed five Northern Virginia school districts on “high-risk status” for violating Title IX regulations.
Last month, the department found Alexandria City Public Schools, Arlington Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools, Loudon County Public Schools and Prince William County Public Schools in violation for their policies allowing students to occupy intimate facilities based on their gender identity, rather than their biological sex.
Labeling school districts as “high-risk” alerts federal agencies of the district’s failure to comply with the terms of their federal grant agreements, according to an announcement from the Education Department.
All federal funding given to these districts will now be done by reimbursement only, according to the Education Department. These include formula funding, discretionary grants and impact aid grants, totaling more than $50 million.
According to the announcement, the school districts rejected the initial resolution agreement offered by the Education Department, resulting in administrative proceedings that aim to suspend or terminate their federal funding.
“States and school districts cannot openly violate federal law while simultaneously receiving federal funding with no additional scrutiny,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement. “The Northern Virginia 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.”
Within the same week, the Education Department also launched investigations into four Kansas school districts for alleged Title IX and FERPA violations. These districts include Topeka Public Schools, Shawnee Public Schools, Olathe Public Schools and Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools.
According to the Education Department, a complaint was filed with the department by the Defense of Freedom Institute alleging that the districts’ policies and practices allow students to participate in sports and access intimate facilities based on gender identity.
The complaint also targets policies that prevent school officials from disclosing a student’s transgender status to their parents without the student’s consent.
“From day one, the Trump Administration promised to protect students and parents by restoring Title IX and parental rights laws to the fullest extent of the law,” McMahon said. “My offices will vigorously investigate these matters to ensure these practices come to an end.”
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