LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — Loudoun County Public School parents got a surprise at a pre-first-day-of-school event when they flipped over a school flyer to find a political message from the county GOP.
Flyers handed out outside a local elementary school had the calendar of school holidays on one side, but when parents turned them over, they found a very specific message: vote for Donald Trump, Mike Clancy and Hung Cao in the upcoming November general election.
Next to the “vote for” section of the flyer was a back-to-school checklist telling them to learn about school policies on gendered sports teams and bathrooms, political candidates’ opinions on school choice and to check the content of books in school libraries, among other things. In small font in the bottom right corner, the flyer is attributed to Loudoungop.com.
The flyer references a 2023 bathroom controversy, where a teenager and her parents filed a $30 million lawsuit against LCPS ─ saying the district failed to adequately investigate and tried to cover up her sexual assault by a male student in a high school bathroom.
The attacker was wearing a skirt in a women's bathroom.
One person posted the flyer on Reddit with the comment, “From ‘wow this is convenient’ to ‘wow... this is..?’ during orientation today. To advertise outside of a public school, your party should AT LEAST be in support of public education.”
LCPS sent out a news release saying that the school system did not know anything about the flyer and that it did not create or endorse the flyers.
“Loudoun County Public Schools wishes to reaffirm that we do not endorse any particular political party, message, or candidate. While we respect the political process and the right of individuals to express their beliefs, our primary concern is maintaining a safe and welcoming environment for all students and families,” the school system wrote in an email to families in response to multiple complaints.
Though people can pass out flyers outside school grounds, LCPS policy states that any person distributing materials must be 40 feet away from the school entrance and stay in one location.
LCPS said it has reached out to both major political parties to reiterate these guidelines.
The Loudoun County Republican Committee Chair told WUSA9, they were practicing their First Amendment right and will continue to distribute flyers at school events.
"We were simply sharing literature that expressed the school calendar but also, informing parents and letting them know, that, to check with their schools to make sure their children are not sharing the same bathroom or locker room with the opposite sex.” Scott Pio, Republican Committee Chair, said.
Loudoun County GOP has been in controversy recently when the organization was served a cease and desist to stop selling mugs and T-shirts with photos of former president Donald Trump after the assassination attempt on July 13.
