Two male students from Stone Bridge High School (SBHS) are facing Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) in an ongoing federal lawsuit concerning their reaction to a transgender student in their locker-room.
The incident occurred in May 2025, when two boys, referred to in court documents as S.W. and J.S., expressed verbal aversion toward a transgender student in their locker room. The transgender student recorded the interaction.
“The school system has found that the boys violated Title IX by merely questioning why a female is in a boys’ locker room while they are getting changed,” said America First Legal, the law firm that is representing the boys. Title IX, as mentioned in the LCPS Student Rights & Responsibilities Handbook, prohibits discrimination based-on-sex and sexual harassment.
The boys faced disciplinary action for this incident, including a 10-day suspension in which they were prohibited from coming in contact with the student.
Supporters of S.W and J.S. had stated that they were simply “questioning” the presence of the transgender individual, however LCPS has openly opposed this view point.
“LCPS would not investigate or discipline students based on their personal opinions, thoughts, or beliefs,” LCPS wrote in their statement on the incident. “LCPS does investigate and may take disciplinary action when student behavior violates LCPS’ Student Rights & Responsibilities Handbook for Families and Student Code of Conduct.”
LCPS affirms that the boys violated Title IX. They stated that J.S and S.W had been frequently harassing the transgender student for the majority of the year. 19 witnesses corroborated this evidence, stating that the boys had called the student a “girl-boy” and referred to them as “it.”
Although the video that the transgender student filmed has not been made public, LCPS alleges that the video showcases no nudity – which was a main point of concern for the parents of J.S and S.W.
“I always thought the area I live in is very accepting of minorities, especially the transgender community,” said an LGBTQ+ student at Lightridge. “Seeing incidents like this make me wary of my own identity.”
“It’s just really scary to see transgender people be attacked like this in public,” said another LGBTQ+ student, “I always think, what would Lightridge do in a situation like this?”
Lightridge’s policy towards issues amongst students has always been having open lines of discussion in the community.
“I think that if you have conversations with your students and you know your students, then hopefully you will have conversations before you’re placed in a hard situation. It can be resolved ahead of time,” said Principal Ryan Hitchman. “Not only do we have a student equity committee, we also have a staff equity committee. The things that we do on a daily basis reinforce inclusivity that we want to see in our student body.”
Currently, Lightridge follows LCPS’s policy 8040 regarding equity towards transgender students. All students are allowed use their chosen name and pronouns, as well as use locker rooms and bathrooms that correspond to their expressed gender.
“I think it’s important for students to know that at Lightridge you are visible,” said Hitchman.
This is another incident in a series of controversies related to LCPS’s stance on transgender students. Read more about Governor Glenn Youngkin’s Model Policies on transgender students and LCPS’s response here.
