'Invasion of privacy': Loudoun County students walk out, demand school district restore girls-only and boys-only restrooms

Loudoun County high school students staged a walkout Wednesday, demanding that the district restore girls-only and boys-only restrooms and locker rooms, WJLA-TV reported.

A group of students at Woodgrove High School walked out of class this week to protest a district-wide measure, Policy 8040, that allows non-binary and trans-identifying individuals to use the restroom and locker room facilities that align with their gender identity instead of their biology.

The policy, "Rights of Transgender and Gender-Expansive Students," was adopted by the Loudoun County School Board in 2021 after a 7-2 vote.

"Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) is committed to providing an equitable, safe and inclusive learning environment for all students," the policy states.

School staff are required to "allow gender-expansive or transgender students to use their chosen name and gender pronouns that reflect their consistently asserted gender identity without any substantiating evidence, regardless of the name and gender recorded in the student's permanent educational record," the policy continued. "Inadvertent slips in the use of names or pronouns may occur; however, staff or students who intentionally and persistently refuse to respect a student's gender identity by using the wrong name and gender pronoun are in violation of this policy."

Trans-identifying students must be allowed to participate in school activities that align with their chosen gender identity, it adds.

On Wednesday morning, approximately 50 to 100 students walked out of the high school in protest against the policy.

Demonstrators held signs that read, "Restore girls only and boys only locker rooms, showers & bathrooms!"

"Overturn Policy 8040," other signs read.

Video of the demonstration showed students singing the national anthem.

"In the locker rooms in the morning it's an invasion of privacy, as I said, because when men and natural-born males are in our locker rooms and they are showering in the morning, natural-born females can walk in there as they please," a male high school student told WJLA. "And that is not OK. And it goes against what we believe in."

Another male student told the outlet, "I would like to be able when I get off football practice and go put my pads away and change not feel uncomfortable with other genders in there watching me."

"I feel that girls feel the same way about the situation. How would you feel if you were a female changing with a male?" he asked.

A third male student called it "very uncomfortable" to use the restroom and locker room facilities with the current policy in place.

One female student told WJLA that many girls, including herself, have stopped using the school's restrooms due to safety concerns. She claimed that the district has been ignoring the girls' fears.

"It should be the entire school [walking out]," one student told the outlet.

"But there are a lot of people who are scared to speak out against it, so they stayed inside because they don't want to see the backlash," another student chimed in.

In a statement to WJLA, the district said, "The Loudoun County School Board is continuing to follow its established process in its review of the latest Model Policies issued by the Virginia Department of Education. Policy 8040 is in review along with the new Model Policies, by the Student Services Committee."

Students reportedly told the news outlet that teachers had discouraged the walkout despite previously encouraging students to participate in a 2022 pro-LGBTQ+ walkout to protest Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin.

In 2021, a female student was sexually assaulted by a skirt-wearing male in a girls' restroom at an LCPS school.

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