Connect with us

News from the South - Virginia News Feed

Loudoun schools accused of misusing Title IX in transgender locker room case

Published

on

virginiamercury.com – Nathaniel Cline – 2025-06-03 12:48:00


A locker room incident at Loudoun County’s Stone Bridge High School sparked controversy over student privacy and free speech. Three male students said they were uncomfortable when a biologically female student changed clothes in the boys’ locker room and recorded it. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares confirmed an investigation into the school system’s “retaliatory Title IX” actions against these students, citing potential misuse of authority targeting their expressed discomfort. The case was referred to federal agencies for review. LCPS defends its gender identity policies but faces criticism amid ongoing safety concerns following a prior bathroom assault case.

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury
June 3, 2025

A locker room incident at a Loudoun County high school has reignited controversy over student privacy, free speech, and school policy — now drawing scrutiny from Virginia’s top law enforcement office.

On Monday evening, the Office of the Virginia Attorney General confirmed that Loudoun County Public Schools launched an investigation against three male students who said they felt “uncomfortable” when a biologically female student changed clothes in a boys’ locker room and recorded the event.

The Attorney General’s office also cited “persistent” reports that LCPS and the school board have taken “adverse” and “potentially unlawful action” against parents, teachers, and public speakers.

Last month, Gov. Glenn Youngkin asked Attorney General Jason Miyares to investigate the claims to ensure the school division was upholding student privacy, dignity, and safety. The office described the school system’s actions as a “retaliatory Title IX investigation” targeting the three Stone Bridge High School students. 

The case has been referred to the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice for further review.

“The investigation reveals a disturbing misuse of authority by Loudoun County Public Schools, where students appear to have been targeted not for misconduct, but for expressing their discomfort for being forced to share a locker room with a member of the opposite sex,” Miyares said in a statement Monday evening. 

He added that Title IX was never meant to be used as a “weapon” against free speech or religious convictions.

“Every student in Virginia deserves the right to speak openly, think freely, and live according to their conscience without fear of retaliation,” he said. “Protecting those rights is not political — it’s foundational to who we are as Americans.”

LCPS’ Policy 8040 allows access to sex-separated facilities based on gender identity. However, the Attorney General’s Office said the school division appears to be punishing the students “who hold and express faith based views” instead of protecting their constitutional rights.

The school division has not commented on the investigation findings as of Tuesday morning.

However, LCPS did release a statement saying it was “deeply disheartening” to see an elected official — whom they did not name — rely on a WJLA report to publicly criticize the school division. LCPS defended its safety policies and commitment to student well-being and rejected the suggestion that schools are unsafe.

Loudoun County is still contending with the fallout of a 2021 bathroom assault case involving a male student who was found guilty of attacking two female students at different schools over six months. In the first incident, the male student was wearing a skirt when he assaulted a female student in a girls’ bathroom, although there’s no evidence he identified as female. 

In 2023, Loudoun County Public Schools launched a pilot program aimed at improving restroom privacy and safety. The initiative was designed to increase accessibility and provide students with the option of using multi-fixture, gender-specific restrooms or single-occupancy restrooms across all LCPS facilities.

Stone Bridge High School, where the locker room incident and investigation originated, was not part of that pilot program.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

SUBSCRIBE

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.

The post Loudoun schools accused of misusing Title IX in transgender locker room case appeared first on virginiamercury.com



Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Right-Leaning

This content reflects a right-leaning perspective, as it emphasizes concerns over student privacy, free speech, and religious convictions in the context of policies accommodating transgender students. The article highlights the involvement of Republican officials such as Attorney General Jason Miyares and Governor Glenn Youngkin, who are critical of school policies allowing access to sex-separated facilities based on gender identity. The framing of Title IX as being potentially misused against free speech and faith-based views, along with the focus on alleged retaliation against students expressing discomfort, aligns with conservative viewpoints on these issues. Though the piece references responses from the school division and acknowledges ongoing efforts to improve safety and privacy, the overall tone sympathizes with the critics of the current policies, which is characteristic of a right-leaning bias.

News from the South - Virginia News Feed

Commanders training camp opens without McLaurin | NBC4 Washington

Published

on

www.youtube.com – NBC4 Washington – 2025-07-22 20:11:21

SUMMARY: The Washington Commanders opened training camp without star receiver Terry McLaurin, who did not report due to ongoing contract disputes. McLaurin missed the team’s conditioning test, officially beginning his holdout as negotiations continue. Team insiders express high regard for McLaurin and are working to close the gap between both sides to reach an agreement. Meanwhile, Head Coach Dan Quinn is enthusiastic about camp’s competitive spirit, emphasizing the intense matchups that push players to excel. Despite McLaurin’s absence, Commanders players are eager to build on last season’s success as camp begins with practice scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Star wide receiver Terry McLaurin did not report to Washington Commanders training camp as he negotiates a contract extension. Team Insider JP Finlay reports.
_______

NBC4 Washington / WRC-TV is the No. 1 broadcast television station and the home of the most-watched local news in Washington, D.C. The station leads the market in providing timely and breaking news and information in text, video and graphics across more than 15 platforms including NBCWashington.com, the NBC4 app, NBC4 streaming news channel, newsletters, and social media.

FOLLOW & STREAM NBC4 WASHINGTON

NBC4 News Streaming channel: https://www.nbcwashington.com/watch/
Xumo Play: https://play.xumo.com/live-guide/nbc-washington-dc-news
Roku: https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/021707311e0b595597f97a389e0051e6/nbc-washington-dc-news
Also available on Pluto TV, Freevee, Google TV, TCL, Local Now, and Samsung TV Plus.

More here: https://www.nbcwashington.com/watchlive/
Instagram: http://nbc4dc.com/3HxYkYH
Threads: http://nbc4dc.com/ZYZAAHJ
Facebook: http://nbc4dc.com/iD1GvRQ
X: http://nbc4dc.com/APF7vQM
TikTok: http://nbc4dc.com/pg5Nx67
VISIT OUR SITE: https://www.nbcwashington.com/
DOWNLOAD OUR FREE APPS: https://www.nbcwashington.com/products/
WATCH NBC4 LIVE ON AMAZON FIRE TV: https://www.nbcwashington.com/firetv/
WATCH NBC4 LIVE ON ROKU: https://www.nbcwashington.com/roku/d

Source

Continue Reading

News from the South - Virginia News Feed

Company seeks to overturn Va. Supreme Court’s rejection of toll increase request

Published

on

virginiamercury.com – Nathaniel Cline – 2025-07-22 04:25:00


Toll Road Investors Partnership II (TRIP II), operating the private 14-mile Dulles Greenway toll road, seeks to overturn the Virginia Supreme Court’s rejection of its proposed toll hike. The court upheld the State Corporation Commission’s (SCC) decision that the requested increase was unreasonable and burdensome to users. TRIP II aimed to raise tolls from $5.80 to $8.10 during peak hours to cover debts, which stood at $1.1 billion in 2022. Virginia law requires toll increases to be reasonable relative to benefits. The Attorney General and Loudoun County opposed the hike, citing public harm and congestion. TRIP II plans new proposals and federal litigation.

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury
July 22, 2025

Toll Road Investors Partnership II (TRIP II), which operates the private 14-mile Dulles Greenway toll road, is seeking to overturn a Virginia Supreme Court’s decision last week to reject the company’s request to hike the roadway’s toll rate.

This comes after the Virginia Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the unanimous decision by the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to reject the proposal because it did not demonstrate that the proposed rates would be “reasonable to the user in relation to the benefit obtained.”

Atlas Arteria, which owns the roadway, is regulated by the SCC under the Virginia Highway Corporation Act, which allows the company to request a toll increase once per year but doesn’t permit it to negotiate those increases.

On July 11, 2023, TRIP II applied to raise tolls on vehicles, including two-axle vehicles, from $5.80 to $8.10 during peak hours and from $5.25 to $6.40 during off-peak hours, to cover its debt payments and operating expenses. Traveling the toll road cost commuters driving two-axle vehicles $1.75 and $3.50 for all other vehicles when the road opened in 1995.

Court records indicate TRIP II’s debt stood at $1.1 billion as of December 2022.

“TRIP II’s pending federal case, which was stayed in anticipation of the SCV appeal decision, will now proceed,” said Atlas Arteria in a statement. “The federal complaint alleges constitutional violations distinct from those decided by the (Supreme Court) and seeks compensatory, declarative, injunctive, and other relief, unavailable to TRIP II in the SCV appeal.” 

The company said TRIP II would continue to engage with the SCC’s working group and plans to file a new proposal to raise toll rates later this year. 

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a statement on Thursday that the proposal failed to meet the basic legal standards of reasonableness and public benefit and that the high court upheld the commission’s finding that the proposed tolls were unjustified and unreasonably burdensome on the public.

Virginia law mandates that toll increases must be reasonable to drivers in relation to the benefit received. 

In October 2023, the Virginia Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Counsel joined the case for TRIP II’s rate increase, along with Loudoun County.

“This is an enormous win for hardworking Virginians who are already stretched thin by rising costs,” Miyares said in a statement on July 17. “No private company has the right to exploit a government franchise to gouge commuters, especially when public alternatives exist. My office stood up to defend Virginia consumers from the largest toll increase in Dulles Greenway history, and today, common sense prevailed.”

Loudoun County leaders also celebrated the court’s decision. The toll road runs between Leesburg and Washington Dulles International Airport, situated in Loudoun County. 

County leaders asked to participate in the case because they believe “decades of increased tolls on the Greenway prevent drivers from using it, which results in increased congestion on public roads in the county and forces Loudoun County to expand other roads at public expense.”

In anticipation of the Supreme Court’s decision, TRIP II filed its complaint in February in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District shortly after the SCC’s decision on Sept. 4, 2024. Since the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling, no additional hearings have been scheduled.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

SUBSCRIBE

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.

The post Company seeks to overturn Va. Supreme Court’s rejection of toll increase request appeared first on virginiamercury.com



Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This article presents a largely factual report on the Virginia Supreme Court’s rejection of a private toll road company’s attempt to raise tolls, emphasizing the protection of consumer interests and public benefit. The coverage highlights the Attorney General’s and Loudoun County officials’ criticisms of the toll increase as burdensome to commuters and frames the court decision as a victory for “hardworking Virginians” against corporate overreach. The tone and choice of quotes suggest a slight lean toward consumer protection and government oversight, which aligns with a Center-Left perspective, without strong partisan framing or ideological rhetoric.

Continue Reading

News from the South - Virginia News Feed

Tropics Update: Area of interest in the Atlantic: 94-L

Published

on

www.youtube.com – 13News Now – 2025-07-21 19:31:57

SUMMARY: As of July 21, the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season is about one-third complete, with only three named storms so far and overall quiet conditions in both the Atlantic and eastern Pacific basins. A new area of interest, Invest 94L, is located far east in the Atlantic but faces hostile conditions including dry Saharan dust and fast westward movement, limiting its development chances to about 10%. Historically, long gaps without named storms occur, with a notable 61-day lull in 1999. Tropical activity typically increases in August as conditions become more favorable. Tonight’s Hurricane Hub Live highlights ongoing monitoring and preparedness guidance.

13News Now chief meteorologist Tim Pandajis has the latest on the tropics. The National Hurricane Center is tracking an area of low pressure, known as Invest 94L, in the central Atlantic. Showers and thunderstorms have become less organized, and conditions are expected to become less favorable over the next day or so as the system moves west-northwest at 10–15 mph, according to hurricane forecasters.

Overall, things are quiet in the tropics, but we’re approaching a time when storm activity typically ramps up significantly.

13News Now Hurricane Center: https://www.13newsnow.com/hurricane-center

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/wvectv/?sub_confirmation=1
Download the 13News Now app: https://bit.ly/13NewsNowApp
Watch 13News Now+ for free on streaming: https://www.13newsnow.com/13NewsNowPlus
Check out our website: https://www.13newsnow.com/
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/13newsnow/
Follow us on X/Twitter: https://x.com/13newsnow
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/13newsnow/

Source

Continue Reading

Trending