Two LGBTQ+ advocacy groups are calling for Arlington Public Schools to defy federal attempts to dismantle the school system’s anti-discrimination policy for transgender students.
Both Equality Arlington and the Arlington Gender Identity Alliance (AGIA) issued statements this week on the results of a U.S. Department of Education investigation into five Northern Virginia school districts.
The Education Department is calling for APS and school districts in Fairfax County, Alexandria, Loudoun County and Prince William County to stop letting transgender students use bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding with their gender identity.
Though the agency is threatening imminent consequences for any noncompliance, advocates are pushing APS leaders to stand firm.
“APS must stay true to its commitment to create a school environment where all students thrive and refuse to comply with the demands of the U.S. Department of Education,” AGIA said in a press release today (Tuesday). “We understand that choosing to say NO will have consequences for the school system, but we believe the consequences of caving to this hate-filled and cruel finding would be worse.”
Equality Arlington, meanwhile, challenged both the results of the investigation and similar moves at the state level.
“These threats to the rights and wellbeing of transgender and nonbinary students are the latest wave of efforts to erase transgender and nonbinary children from society and they will not be the last,” the advocacy group wrote in a letter to APS leadership. “APS must keep fighting back on behalf of these students and continue prioritizing student safety, bodily autonomy, and authenticity in their lived identities.”
Equality Arlington reiterated criticisms of the Virginia High School League’s shift to ban transgender girls from competing on girls’ athletic teams, as well as a recent recordkeeping change at the Virginia Department of Education, which now prevents schools from recording students’ genders as anything other than “male” or “female.”
“We know that the risks of resistance and non-compliance with these attacks are real — legal battles are expensive and threats to funding present challenges for all of APS’s students and families,” Equality Arlington wrote. “However, it is imperative that APS continue to stand up for the Arlington community’s values of dignity and rights for all students.”
The group called on APS to “take every legal and other appropriate action to oppose and resist the U.S. Department of Education, Virginia High School League, Virginia Department of Education, and any other powerful, but morally bankrupt, organizations intent on harming and discriminating against vulnerable transgender and nonbinary students.”
APS spokesperson Andrew Robinson told ARLnow that the school system is still in the process of reviewing advocates’ statements and the letter from the Department of Education.
“APS remains committed to providing all students with safe, supportive and inclusive learning environments,” Robinson said.
Specifically, the Education Department is pushing APS and other school districts to take the following actions.
(i) Rescind the policies and/or regulations that allow students to access intimate facilities based on their “gender identity” rather than their sex;
(ii) Issue a memorandum to each Division school explaining that any future policies related to access to intimate facilities must be consistent with Title IX by separating students strictly on the basis of sex, and that Title IX ensures women’s equal opportunity in any education program or activity including athletic programs; and
(iii) Adopt biology-based definitions of the words “male” and “female” in all practices and policies relating to Title IX.
In a Friday press release, the agency urged school districts “to voluntarily agree within 10 days or risk imminent enforcement action including referral to the U.S. Department of Justice.”
The press release didn’t elaborate on what referral to the Justice Department would entail. Federal funding accounts for about 3% of Arlington Public Schools’ $845 million budget in fiscal year 2026.
