This article originally appeared here, at wjla.com

WASHINGTON (7News) — America First Legal (AFL) sent a formal complaint to the U.S. Department of Education to investigate five Northern Virginia school districts for Title IX violations against female students.

AFL argues that Alexandria City Public Schools, Arlington Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools, Loudoun County Public Schools, and Prince William County Public Schools have bathroom and locker room policies that violate Title IX and President Donald Trump’s Executive Order.

“These five schools that we named are violating Title IX and they are violating President Trump’s executive orders,” said Ian Prior, who works for AFL.

The school districts allow students to use locker rooms and bathrooms based on gender identity and not biological sex.

“President Trump’s executive orders and recent case law on Title IX is about sex discrimination. It’s not about gender identity,” said Prior. “And what you have in these school systems are policies related to restrooms and locker rooms that allow people to use a restroom consistent with their gender identity, not their biological sex. What that does is it allows a boy, for example, to go use a female restroom, and if the female has an issue with that, then she’s the one that has to go use the private restroom. Well under Title IX, that’s discrimination on the basis of sex. And these schools and the agencies and departments that regulate them are now back to the old Title IX rules before Joe Biden and his administration pushed this radical Title IX rule that has been nationally enjoined. So we’re asking the Department of Education to take a look at those schools. They’ve been certainly the worst offenders locally, and we’ll see what happens.”

Prior said that if the U.S. Department of Education finds the school districts in violation of Title IX, the school systems could risk their federal funding.

“Now, look, these school systems have massive budgets,” said Prior. “The superintendents might say, ‘well, look, that’s just a rounding error’, but then they’re going to have to go back to their constituencies and say ‘well we need more money from our board of supervisors, which ultimately means more money from you so that we can run afoul of federal law’. That’s going to be a very tough sell.”

AFL’s letter to the U.S. Department of Education mentions 7News’ reporting which showed a biologically male child sex offender used a girls’ high school locker room and exposed himself to women and children.

Mugshot of 58-year-old Richard Kenneth Cox. (Arlington County)

The man was able to use the high school girls’ locker room because he identified as transgender. Arlington Public Schools’ policies allow people to use school facilities based on gender identity, not biological sex.

At a recent Arlington School Board meeting, several parents and residents asked school board members to rescind their transgender bathroom and locker room policy.

“I’m here to ask you to restrict women’s locker rooms to women and girls,” said Mariah Burton Nelson. “Of course, we need protection from sex offenders. We also need protection from all males. Currently, APS policy allows boys and men access to women’s locker rooms if they are transgender.”

Annie Quinn told the school board that as a mother of three former APS graduates at Washington Liberty High School, she was grateful that her daughter graduated before the transgender locker room and bathroom policy was adopted by the school board.

“I spoke up during school board meetings in the spring of 2019 along with others, raising many concerns about this, and mentioned that there were no safeguards being considered to prevent a biological boy or man posing as a transgender girl or woman from using that [locker room] to invade the private changing spaces of girls and women on APS grounds for nefarious reasons, and now that has indeed happened,” said Quinn. “As noted tonight, a registered sex-offending biological male freely entered multiple APS locker room facilities and loitered naked among biological women and girls.”

On Thursday, some Arlington residents asked the Arlington School Board to stand by its policy that allows people to use APS locker rooms and bathrooms based on their gender identity and not biological sex.

“The gender identity of the person who entered the pool locker room is completely irrelevant to this conversation, and I think this bears repeating, the gender identity of the person who entered the pool locker room is completely irrelevant,” said Amy Kilala, who said she is a parent of two elementary school-aged kids. “If the same individual had exposed themselves in the other locker room, that would be an equally egregious breach of safety.”

Another Arlington resident told the school board that transgender people are being unfairly blamed for what happened.

“I’ve been to all the pools in Arlington County, and anyone, after paying the entrance fee, can enter into any locker room they desire, regardless of what happened,” the Arlington resident said. “One [sex offender] did. It’s horrible. Sadly, sexual predators exist and [it] will probably happen again. There’s not many things we can’t do to stop it.”

On Tuesday, 7News reached out to school board members in the five Northern Virginia school districts and asked for their response to AFL’s complaint with the U.S. Department of Education and 7News asked if the school board members want to change their transgender school bathroom and locker room policies.

“Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) policies align with state and federal anti-discrimination laws and binding court precedent,” a Fairfax Public Schools spokesperson told 7News in an email. “FCPS remains committed to fostering a safe, supportive, welcoming, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff, including our transgender and gender-expansive students and staff. We know that students can only learn effectively when they feel safe and supported and accepted for who they are. All students have a right to privacy in FCPS facilities or while participating in FCPS-sponsored events. Any student who has a need or desire for increased privacy, regardless of the underlying reason, shall be provided with reasonable accommodations.”

“Prince William County Public Schools has not received any contact from the U.S. Department of Education regarding our policies implementing Title IX,” a Prince William County Public Schools spokesperson told 7News. “If the division receives notification, we will cooperate and respond accordingly.”

“Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) has not received any notification from the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that an investigation has been opened regarding this complaint,” an Alexandria City Public Schools spokesperson told 7News. “In the event ACPS receives notice of an investigation, ACPS will respond in accordance with applicable law. In response to the President’s Executive Order, we are actively reviewing the order to determine any potential impact on School Board policies.”

On Tuesday, Prince William County School Board Chair Babur Lateef told 7News:

“I have been made aware of the complaint. The Department of Education has not initiated any investigation at this time. The Prince William County school division has not been notified of any investigation by any federal agency regarding this complaint.

Since the complaint was made to the Department of Education, and there is reason to believe that the president may close the Department of Education, it is unclear whether there will be a department to do an investigation.