Shatter the Silence FCPS: Madison High Students Walk-Out

By Shatter the Silence Fairfax County Public Schools

With chants of “silence is violence!” and “no one free rape,” hundreds of students at Madison High School in Vienna, Virginia stormed out of class to protest sexual assault in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) this morning.

Students are mad about FCPS's culture of silence and cover-up on sexual violence. They are also angered by the school board's ongoing legal battle to get the Supreme Court to dramatically reinterpret Title IX, the primary law that protects students and teachers from sexual misconduct in the classroom.

Last year, a federal appeals court twice rejected FCPS's proposed interpretation of Title IX. In the official legal opinion, Judge James Wynn of the federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals said that FCPS was trying to argue that schools should get "one free rape."

FCPS has paid the law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth millions of taxpayer dollars to help fight back against students' civil rights, including by lodging this appeal. This is the same law firm that previously argued in favor of segregation during the seminal Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, when the high court struck down segregation in public schools. Former West Virginia Solicitor General, Elbert Lin, along with attorneys Sona Rewari and Ryan Bates, are assisting with the appeal.

Undeterred, the community is fighting back. Shatter the Silence Fairfax County Public Schools, a local non-partisan non-profit launched a petition calling on FCPS to drop the appeal, as well as asking the Department of Justice and State Attorney General to investigate FCPS for what it claims is a pattern and practice of covering up child sex abuse and sexual assault. Over 17,000 people have signed the petition, which can be accessed here. The organization is continuing to gather signatures.

"Sexual assault happens in literally every high school. Title IX is supposed to protect students, and FCPS shouldn't try to change that." said Fortune Picker, another Madison High School student who participated in the protest.

The walk-out at Madison High School is at least the fourth this week. Previously, students at South County High School,Centreville High School, and Mount Vernon High School all took a stand against FCPS's cover-up culture regarding sexual misconduct. While FCPS has not yet responded to these walk-outs, principal Jovon Rogers of Mount Vernon High School wrote parents a letter, where she acknowledged that 200 students walked out, and pledged "roundtable discussions" on the issues of sexual assault. However, as Shatter the Silence FCPS previously pointed out, despite the protests against her administration, she (and her predecessors) reported zero instances of sexual misconduct to the state in the last five years.

These walk-outs come as there is growing scrutiny into FCPS's handling of allegations of sexual assault. Title IX, as well as the Virginia Human Rights Act, require schools to act promptly, fairly, and reasonably investigate allegations of sexual violence and harassment.

Despite these obligations, FCPS has made four settlements in recent years with the federal Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights for allegedly violating Title IX, including a sweeping 2014 settlement that required the school district to completely revamp its policies. FCPS continues to be under three ongoing investigations for the same. There are multiple Title IX lawsuits pending against the county.

In just the past year, two principals and six staff members have been arrested for failing to report child sex abuse. ABC News, NBC News, and the Daily Wire have all conducted investigations into FCPS that raise questions about the district's mishandling of sexual assault. Many pages on social media detail accounts of abuse at school, as well as a lack of action by school bureaucrats after reporting. A brave few have shared their stories publicly. Perhaps most shockingly, FCPS publicly acknowledges it has a problem with sex trafficking occurring in its schools, yet does little to address the issue in a meaningful way.

Shatter the Silence FCPS asks anyone with pictures or videos of protests, or with more information about sexual misconduct in Fairfax County Public Schools to contact them via their website: www.shatterthesilencefcps.org. People who want to join this movement or volunteer should sign up there, as well.

"It was really inspiring to see so many student gathered together to support this cause." said Sara Rooney, a student journalist for Madison High School's student-run publication, Madison News Network who covered today's walkout. "Sexual assault in school is an important issue, and walkouts like this are a great way to create exposure. I hope the media covers how students stood up for their rights today."

Shatter the Silence Fairfax County Public Schools is a volunteer-run, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded by survivors, parents, and students of Fairfax County Public Schools. We seek to raise awareness, and demand accountability, about human rights and civil rights violations that occur in FCPS. Visit our website, www.shatterthesilenceFCPS.org, or follow us on Instagram or twitter @shatterFCPS, to learn more.