A federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, on Friday denied restraining order requests from public schools in Fairfax and Arlington counties to stop the Department of Education from freezing federal funding.
At the heart of this case is the debate on which restrooms transgender students may use.
The Trump administration is withholding federal money from Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William’s Counties and Alexandria because the districts allow students to use restrooms based on their gender identity.
The lawsuit filed by Arlington and Fairfax County school boards asked the court to intervene.
In the 13-page decision, U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston noted the Eastern District of Virginia court lacked jurisdiction “to order the payment of money” as the schools requested. The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning the lawsuits can be refiled.
The Trump administration wants the big five Northern Virginia school districts to change their restroom policies and require students to use the restroom based on the gender they were assigned at birth.
The school districts say that violates federal Title IX law because courts have already established that transgender students may use the restroom of their gender identity.
The Department of Education has labeled these school districts high risk, which impacts federal funding. Instead of federal grant money going directly to the school districts up front, it would be allocated as a reimbursement, so Northern Virginia schools need to cover huge costs up front.
The government says that action is well within the agency’s discretion and that if the districts want to come into compliance, all they need to do is change their restroom policies — a condition Arlington and Fairfax say is a non-starter.
The attorney representing Arlington and Fairfax school boards told the judge Wednesday that he believes Loudoun and Alexandria would likely join this lawsuit as parties against the government.
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