Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia effectively chose to walk away from a high-profile lawsuit over its transgender pronoun and bathroom policies, agreeing to allow judgment to be entered against the district rather than continue defending its rules in federal court.
Jane Doe, the former Fairfax County student represented by America First Legal, accepted the school board’s Rule 68 offer of judgment last Friday — a procedural tool that lets a defendant end a case by offering the relief a plaintiff could have won at trial. The little-noticed update on the court docket means the district will pay nominal damages of $50 and Doe’s accrued attorney’s fees.
In response to a request for comment about the Rule 68 judgment, AFL on Tuesday told the Washington Examiner the outcome was a clear win. “Our client’s rights were violated, and today she has justice,” said Gene Hamilton, the group’s president. “This judgment is a crucial reminder that no one is above the law. Fairfax County attempted repeatedly to block this case, and they failed.”
Senior counsel Ian Prior said the outcome fits into a broader national conflict. “No student should face punishment or be pushed aside for asserting fundamental constitutional rights. This is part of a much larger struggle for basic fairness and safety in schools.”
The offer marks a notable turn in a case that began in Fairfax County Circuit Court last year and escalated into a test of gender identity rules, compelled speech, and Title IX enforcement. Doe, a practicing Roman Catholic and former student in the FCPS system, said she was forced to choose between her religious beliefs and punishment under Regulation 2603, which requires students to use “preferred pronouns” and allows biological males to access girls’ restrooms and locker rooms based on gender identity.
A central incident occurred at West Springfield High School, where Doe says she encountered a biologically male student in the girls’ restroom. The student, listed as “Richard Roe” in court filings, did not identify as transgender but said bullying made him feel unsafe in the boys’ facility. School officials let Roe continue using the girls’ restroom and directed Doe to use single-occupancy bathrooms instead, a move AFL argued violated Title IX by giving male students access to spaces denied to girls.
Doe also challenged compelled pronoun requirements and classroom exercises that she said forced her to affirm beliefs she rejects. A mandatory digital test marked her answer as incorrect when she refused to affirm that students “have the right to be called by their chosen name and pronoun.”
By offering judgment, the school board capped its financial exposure and avoided a broader ruling on the constitutionality of its policies.
Fairfax County Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment. In court filings, its attorneys emphasized that the offer “is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by the School Board and is inadmissible in any proceeding as evidence of any such admission,” adding that it “is not an admission of any of the facts alleged in the complaint.”
The case unfolded amid a major federal shift in Title IX enforcement. The Biden administration had reinterpreted the statute to cover gender identity, requiring schools to allow transgender students access to facilities matching their gender identity and to use preferred pronouns. After taking office, President Donald Trump rescinded those rules in February and reinstated a definition of sex based solely on biology. The new regulations prohibit compelled pronoun use in public schools and bar students from accessing restrooms or locker rooms that do not align with their biological sex, setting up direct conflicts with districts such as Fairfax that adopted broader gender-identity policies.
TITLE IX LAWSUIT TARGETS FAIRFAX COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS OVER RESTROOM POLICY AND COMPELLED SPEECH
The nominal fees judgment comes as the district remains locked in a separate legal fight with the Department of Education, which found in July that Fairfax County’s bathroom and locker room rules violate Title IX. The school board has sued the federal government rather than complying and has so far lost at both the federal district court and appeals levels, leaving it vulnerable to funding cutoffs.
Neighboring Northern Virginia districts — including Arlington, Loudoun, Prince William, and Alexandria — are under similar federal scrutiny, making the Doe judgment an important procedural win for one of several cases involving gender identity mandates amid the Trump administration’s restored Title IX standards.