A circuit court judge ordered Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia Tuesday to give its review of an internal investigation into two student sexual assaults in 2021 to the state Attorney General, according to The Washington Post.
The school board had previously voted 6-3 in February to not hand over the report, citing “attorney-client privileged communications,” including that the report had information on students that is protected under FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act which protects children’s private information, according to The Washington Post. In March, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares filed a subpoena for the report which now must be turned over in the next week following the judge’s ruling. (RELATED: Loudoun County Parents Slam Effort To Ban ‘Hate Speech’ From School Board Meetings)
“We appreciate the Court’s time and attention to this matter, but due to the ongoing case, we cannot comment further,” Miyares Spokeswoman Victoria LaCivita told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
In April, a Virginia special grand jury concluded that the district had “dropped the ball” on student safety following the sexual assaults that occurred in 2021 and involved several students. The report found that the school district did not alert the community of the sexual assaults because of student privacy concerns.
A 15-year-old male student, claiming to be “gender fluid,” came forward and admitted to sexually assaulting two female students at two different schools within the district, according to the special grand jury for the investigation into Loudoun County Public Schools.
As a result of the special grand jury’s report, Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler and Loudoun County Public Schools Public Information Officer Wayde Byard were indicted on several charges. Since the report’s release, parents have demanded that Loudoun County School Board members resign.
Protesters and activists hold signs as they stand outside a Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) board meeting in Ashburn, Virginia on October 12, 2021. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
“Releasing the report to the Attorney General’s office is the next step towards resolving this situation and holding the right parties responsible for what transpired,” Denise Corbo, a Loudoun County School Board member, told The Washington Post. “It is my hope that the end goal of these proceedings will be continued changes in policy, transparency and communication in order to prevent situations like this from occurring in the future in our schools.”
Loudoun County Public Schools did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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