In a federal complaint filed in June 2021, several Loudoun County parents, supported by a national MAGA-oriented legal organization, accused the Loudoun school system of violating the civil and free-speech rights of their children because of two programs designed to examine systemic historical racial inequities. They argued that their children’s views were antithetical to the school’s objectives and potentially chilled. The legal action and its funding were promoted as combating the teaching of “social justice” and critical race theory.
Judge Trenga dismissed the complaint on legal and factual grounds. The complaining parties involved kept the juggernaut going for two years with appeals and ludicrous motions. Meanwhile, the children whose rights were allegedly infringed graduated, the programs ended, and the MAGA gambit lost its allure.
Finally, the clown show at the expense of the Loudoun School Board and county citizens ended on Oct. 31. In a meticulous 16-page opinion, Judge Trenga denied the plaintiff’s motions, granted the school board’s and dismissed the case. Eight days later, the voters of Loudoun County effectively supported the court’s decision at the ballot box.
Anthony M. Rutkowski, Ashburn
