Press Releases

Republican Leader of the House Education and Labor Committee Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Republican Leader of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Richard Burr (R-NC) recently sent three letters expressing grave concern over Loudoun County Public Schools’ (LCPS) and Superintendent Scott Ziegler’s mishandling of a female student’s allegation of rape by a fellow male student.

In their letter to Superintendent Scott Ziegler, the Members write: “Your lack of candor, as well as subsequent actions by your office, led to another sexual assault on LCPS grounds. As Superintendent of LCPS, you not only have a duty to maintain the safety of all students and to be truthful to parents, but you also have a duty under Federal law to respond to allegations of sexual assault.”

In their letter to Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon, the Members write: “[N]either LCPS nor Mr. Ziegler followed any of the procedures outlined in the Title IX regulations. Instead, the only known evidence shows that LCPS and Mr. Ziegler tried to conceal the original incident, transferred the accused student while known criminal charges were pending, and created the opportunity for another student to be assaulted.”

In their letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Members write: “It is perplexing to us that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently focused on investigating parents exercising their free speech rights at school board meetings, while it is not concerned, at least publicly, with alleged crimes occurring against students in our nation’s public schools.”

Read the full letter to AG Garland here.
Read the full letter to Assistant Secretary Lhamon here.
Read the full letter to Superintendent Ziegler here.

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