US school failed to act on complaints of trans student staring at girls in female changing rooms
A school principal allegedly told female students they could “go somewhere else” if they felt uncomfortable changing in the presence of a transgender pupil who was reported to be watching them undress, according to a formal complaint lodged with federal authorities.
Complaint lodged with federal authorities
The complaint was filed by America First Legal (AFL), a conservative advocacy organisation founded by Stephen Miller, with both the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice. The group is seeking an investigation into Cox Mill High School in Concord, North Carolina, over allegations that complaints from students and parents about a transgender pupil’s behaviour in female changing rooms were repeatedly ignored.
AFL contends that the school district may have breached Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination at institutions that receive federal funding. The organisation argues that compelling female students to share intimate spaces with biological males creates a “hostile educational environment”. AFL senior counsel Ian Prior said: “Girls should never be forced to sacrifice their privacy, safety, or dignity because school officials are afraid to tell the truth about biological sex.”
The complaint references grievances submitted by both students and parents to the local education authority, the Cabarrus County School Board, which has faced public criticism over its handling of the issue. Advocates have accused the board of inaction and called for clear policies to protect student safety and privacy.
Student’s testimony
Among those who spoke out was Trista Ruck, a pupil at Cox Mill High School, who addressed the Cabarrus County School Board at a public session in December 2025. She told officials: “There is a biological male who dresses and acts like a female who is on the football and basketball cheer team. That is not the issue. The issue is whenever he dresses and undresses in the women’s locker room and uses the women’s restroom.”
Ms Ruck also recounted an incident described by a fellow student who was part of one of the school’s sports teams. “A peer of mine said that during scheduled spring workouts for her sport, she was in the locker room changing when she noticed him watching her and the other girls dress and undress,” Ms Ruck said. “She stated that this made her feel extremely uncomfortable.”
The student who witnessed the incident told the school board that she had “tried to avoid the restrooms at all costs” and accused school leadership and the athletics director of having “blatantly ignored our concerns”.
Principal’s response and failure to address concerns
According to Ms Ruck, the then-principal, Chris Myers, dismissed the complaints when they were raised. She said Mr Myers told the teenager that administrators had “decided that there isn’t anything we can do” and that female pupils “can go somewhere else” if they felt uneasy. In a separate conversation, the former head teacher reportedly described the matter as “too political to address”.
Mr Myers resigned as Cox Mill principal just 10 days after the school board meeting where Ms Ruck spoke. Records from Cabarrus County Schools indicate that Mr Myers had been appointed principal in April 2024, transferring from Northwest Cabarrus High School. Dr Meghan Frazier was appointed as his replacement, effective 2 January 2026.
Parental concerns about transgender student access to girls’ facilities at Cox Mill had emerged as early as 2024. At that time, school officials reportedly said they lacked a specific policy and were instead following the Biden administration’s interpretation of Title IX, which outlawed discrimination on the basis of “gender identity”. That interpretation, based on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, broadened the definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity and sexual orientation, aiming to ensure transgender students could access facilities consistent with their gender identity.
The school’s apparent reluctance to act may also be understood against a rapidly shifting legal and political backdrop. In January 2025, a federal judge vacated the Biden administration’s updated Title IX regulations nationwide, ruling that the Department of Education had exceeded its authority by including gender identity in its definition of sex discrimination. The ruling effectively reinstated the Title IX regulations from the first Trump administration, which had taken the opposite stance.
Upon returning to office in January 2025, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”. The order declares that the federal government will recognise only two biological sexes, male and female, and defines “sex” as an immutable biological classification. It states: “Efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex fundamentally attack women by depriving them of their dignity, safety, and well-being.” The Trump administration’s Department of Justice has since launched investigations into school districts across the country concerning “gender ideology”, including access to single-sex spaces.
Legal precedents, such as the Gavin Grimm case in Virginia, where the Fourth Circuit ruled that discrimination based on gender identity falls under sex-based discrimination protections, have further complicated the landscape. Schools have been caught between conflicting federal interpretations and court rulings, leaving students and parents uncertain about their rights and obligations.
The AFL complaint now awaits a response from the Department of Education and the Department of Justice, both of which have the power to launch formal investigations into the Cabarrus County school district.
