Two high school boys in Virginia have been formally labeled “sexual harassers” by their school district. Their offense was not a physical act, nor was it a pattern of targeted bullying.
Their offense was to complain to each other about a biological female who identifies as transgender being present in their boys’ locker room.
This is not a story about school discipline. It is the story of a profound and constitutionally troubling weaponization of a federal civil rights law. It is a case study in how a law designed to protect students can be twisted into a sword to punish them for their speech, and how a federal judge is now stepping in to defend the principles of due process.
How Does a Complaint Become “Sexual Harassment”?
The sequence of events in Loudoun County is a startling illustration of administrative overreach. After the two boys were videotaped by the transgender student while they were complaining, the school district launched a formal Title IX investigation – not into the violation of the boys’ privacy, but into their complaints.
The investigation concluded that the boys were guilty of sexual harassment. Their punishment: a 10-day suspension and a permanent mark on their academic records that could follow them for the rest of their lives.
As one of the boys’ fathers stated:
“No parent should have to fear their child will be branded a ‘sexual harasser’ simply for standing up for their privacy.”
The Constitutional Right to Due Process in School
After the school district denied their appeal, the families took their case to federal court, where a judge has now granted them emergency relief, blocking the suspensions. The judge’s ruling is a powerful “teaching moment” on the constitutional rights of students.
In the 1970 landmark case Goss v. Lopez, the Supreme Court affirmed that students do not “shed their constitutional rights… at the schoolhouse gate.” The Court ruled that under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, a student facing suspension has a right to a fair process.
Judge Leonie Brinkema’s order, which found the boys were “likely to suffer irreparable harm” and that the “public interest is best served by ensuring high school students remain in school and receive adequate process,” is a direct affirmation of this 50-year-old constitutional precedent.
A Perversion of a Civil Rights Law
The most constitutionally disturbing aspect of this case is the school district’s bizarre and punitive application of Title IX. This landmark 1972 civil rights law was designed to prohibit sex-based discrimination and harassment in education, ensuring that all students have equal access to educational opportunities.
To stretch the definition of “sexual harassment” to include two boys’ private complaints about their own privacy in a locker room is a radical and legally baseless interpretation. It transforms a law meant to be a shield for victims into a sword to punish students for expressing disfavored viewpoints. It is a direct assault on the free speech rights of students, rights that were famously protected in the Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines.
The federal judge’s emergency order is a necessary intervention to protect the rights of these students. The case is about more than just one locker room; it is a test of whether our foundational civil rights laws can be weaponized for ideological ends. The judge’s own description of the school’s actions as “troubling” is a sober warning that in the heat of our culture wars, we must not lose sight of the constitutional principles of free speech and due process that are meant to protect every student.
Discussion
Being a parent, I feel that the trans should have to be in the locker room of their determined birth gender. Many teens are very bashful as to the appearance of their physical development especially in front of a person they know is not of their gender.
It's quite worrying how far some institutions are willing to go in twisting laws meant for protection into tools for punishment. We're seeing a troubling shift where the fundamental right to free speech and due process is under threat, even within schools. I remember when conservative principles like accountability and respect for individual rights were more center-stage in our national discourse. Branding these boys as "sexual harassers" for voicing concerns disrupts the balance of justice. It's heartening that a judge stepped in, but it's a reminder of how careful we need to be about preserving our constitutional rights.
So dramatic, geez. Chill out. These boys aren't heroes for whining about who’s in the locker room. Stop blowing things out of proportion with all this "constitutional rights" hysteria. It's just typical school drama being overhyped by people looking to make a fuss.
Isn't it funny when the shoe is on the other foot? It was alright when the trans.boys were in the girls locker room. They were even found to abuse the girls in some cases!
This is exactly why we gotta stop this woke madness and protect our kids!