A federal judge has dismissed a parent-brought lawsuit that sought to halt two diversity and inclusion programs launched by Loudoun County Public Schools, claiming the programs are unconstitutional.

       U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga, an appointee of President George W. Bush, ruled Wednesday that the parents failed to show that the school system’s diversity initiatives — a student equity ambassador program and a bias reporting system — violate the First Amendment and the equal-protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

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       Trenga’s 18-page decision, which eviscerates the parents’ arguments, is a blow to the vocal group of residents and parents in the county who have been pushing to reverse steps Loudoun officials took over the past three years to address long-standing racial disparities in educational achievement and what a state investigation concluded was a widespread culture of racist harassment in the school system.

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       Broadly, Trenga suggested that the Loudoun parents should pursue their frustrations with Loudoun County Public Schools by bringing their arguments before the school board, not the legal system.

       “While the specific course chosen by the [Loudoun County School Board] to promote a more inclusive, non-discriminatory environment can be reasonably debated, addressing the effects of invidious discrimination within the educational environment is clearly a legitimate pedagogical concern,” Trenga wrote. “Local school boards, not the courts, have the responsibility and obligation to assess how best to advance those pedagogical concerns.”

       Daniel Suhr, managing attorney at the Liberty Justice Center — a conservative advocacy group that is representing the Loudoun parents — said in a statement Wednesday that his organization planned to appeal the case.

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       “Schools have a responsibility to protect students’ free speech rights [and] Loudoun County is taking the opposite approach,” Suhr said. “This is wrong, it’s illegal and we will keep fighting for our clients and students across Virginia.”

       Wayde Byard, the Loudoun school system spokesman, said Thursday that the district had no comment.

       Top Loudoun school officials defend equity work against charges of ‘critical race theory’

       Loudoun launched the ambassador program and the bias reporting system in 2020 as part of its 22-page Action Plans to Combat Systemic Racism. The ambassador program recruits a small group of students throughout the Northern Virginia school district of 81,000 to meet regularly with top administrators so they can share anonymous accounts of racist harassment experienced by their classmates. The bias reporting system includes an online form that allows Loudoun students to anonymously report instances of racist bullying by peers and teachers.

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       In their lawsuit, the group of Loudoun parents alleged that the ambassador program, which requires that students who serve as ambassadors have a passion for social justice, “discriminates on the basis of viewpoint” and that the bias reporting system “chills speech.”

       Trenga wrote in his decision that using “ 'a passion for social justice’ as a selection factor, which is essentially all that Plaintiffs allege, [is not] a violation of the First Amendment” or of the equal-protection clause. He added that the plaintiffs had failed to “allege facts that make plausible that the Bias Incident Reporting System will harm them in any way” because the plaintiffs had not shown that any disciplinary measures have so far resulted from the form.

       “Plaintiffs allege more generally that their children refrain from expressing their views for fear of an adverse reaction from their peers and school administrators,” Trenga wrote. “But, as reflected in Plaintiffs own allegations, that self-censorship would exist separate and apart form the Bias Reporting system.”

       The Loudoun parents had filed suit against the school board in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in June 2021.