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Thousands of voters have the opportunity to vote for their school board representatives in this year’s election. This comes as the current school board is fighting to keep its . The U.S. Department of Education said that policy violates Title IX. As early voting is underway, some teens are greeting Loudoun County voters at the polls and asking them to choose school board candidates who would restore girl only and boy only bathrooms and locker rooms in Loudoun County Public Schools. On Monday, outside Claude Moore Recreation Center and Community Center, the teens could be heard saying: “I am in support for Matt Malone.” “He is helping the students protect boys from coming in girls’ locker rooms.” “He's an independent running for school board.” “He's a sample ballot for Matt Malone.” “He's protecting students in schools.” RELATED | Malone is running against incumbent April Chandler in the Algonkian District. Chandler supports the school board’s current locker room and bathroom policy. For the past four years, LCPS has allowed students to use bathrooms and locker rooms at school based on their chosen gender identity and not biological sex. Several students have protested the policy in the past, but the school board hasn’t budged. Since the teens said the school board hasn’t listened to their concerns, these students want a new school board and they’re asking voters to help. RELATED | “I've been sick of it for quite a while. I just can't put up with it anymore,” one teen told 7News. “It's not normal. It's not something we should be supporting.” A Loudoun County student told 7News that biological males have been allowed to use her locker room and bathrooms at school and that her brother has experienced a biological girl entering the boys’ bathroom when he was in elementary school. “Participating in lacrosse in high school, it's very challenging when I know that there is boys in the girls' locker rooms or even the bathrooms, which concerns me a lot, especially because there are girls that are changing, and knowing that there's a boy in there, concerns me that there are people not willing to do anything about this policy,” she said. “I have two younger brothers, and there's a situation that happened where a girl went in the boy's bathroom when he was going in the bathroom and she was watching, and he felt very uncomfortable.” Some Democrats want the policy to stay in place. “My message to the school board is that they should keep all kids safe, including trans kids,” one protester told 7News late this summer. In an interview late last year, 7News Reporter Nick Minock asked Loudoun County School Board member Arben Istrefi where he stands on the issue. “Do you think biological male students should be able to use girls' locker rooms and restrooms in schools. Yes or no?" 7News Reporter Nick Minock asked Istrefi. "I think gender identity and gender expression is and should be protected," answered Istrefi. This year, Istrefi is running for reelection to the school board against Amy Riccardi in the Sterling District. Riccardi, like Malone, opposes biological males in female locker rooms and bathrooms and vice versa. There are two other contested Loudoun County school board races. Sam Yan is running in the Dulles District and Santos Munoz is running in the Broad Run District. Yan and Munoz oppose biological males in female locker rooms and bathrooms and vice versa. Yan’s opponent Svenson didn’t respond to our request for an interview. But in 2024, Svenson was one of the attorneys who sued the state on behalf of two transgender students — arguing that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s model policies discriminate against transgender students on pronoun usage, bathroom and locker room access, and participation in sex-segregated activities like girls' sports. Munoz’s opponent Andy Pepper didn’t respond to 7News’s question about where he stands. In an interview with 7News this month, Youngkin encouraged people to get out and vote. “Get out and vote,” said Youngkin. “Here's your chance to right a wrong. The bottom line is that biological boys and biological men should not be in locker rooms with biological girls. They just shouldn't be. And biological girls shouldn't be in the same locker rooms and bathrooms as biological boys, and if you need a third bathroom, go build one. But the bottom line is, this is about the safety and the dignity and the privacy of your children, the safety of your children. Get out and vote. This is a chance to actually put this right to elect school board members who will vote to keep your children safe and will look to raise your children, as opposed to imposing their views on your family. Loudoun County, here we are. We have a chance to win this one at the ballot box. We have a chance to elect a school board who will, in fact, look out for parents and children, as opposed to their own ideology. “ You can
