Trump administration threatens to pull federal funds from Virginia school districts in gender policy disputehttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-administration-threatens-to-pull-federal-funds-from-virginia-school-districts-in-gender-policy-dispute/ar-AA1KINsf?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=109baf3c98d2423bc664e8478da31489&ei=97Story by Kristine Parks (18 Aug 2025)
The Department of Education said it plans to pull federal funding from five Northern Virginia school districts after they rejected the Trump administration's request to rescind their transgender bathroom policies.
The five school systems — Prince William, Fairfax, Alexandria, Arlington, and Loudoun counties — announced this week that they will continue allowing students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity, despite a Friday deadline from the Education Department.
Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said that the department would begin the process of suspending or terminating federal financial assistance to the five districts, in a statement shared with Fox News Digital on Friday.
Loudoun County was the first district to announce it was keeping its gender policy. At a closed-session meeting on Tuesday, the board voted 6-3 to keep its Policy 8040, which allows students to use the locker rooms and restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
A Loudoun County school spokesperson said that the federal interpretation of Title IX conflicts with current state and federal law protecting transgender students.
"After consultation with legal counsel, the Board voted 6-3 not to comply with this request due to the tension between the OCR position and current law. We will continue to monitor developments closely to ensure continued legal compliance and the protection of all students," the county said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
