THE PINCER MOVEMENT: How LCPS Bypassed Parental Consent to Facilitate Principal-Level Targeting #QLIK #LCPS #LCSO #LoudounCountyVA #LoudounCountyGovernment #LoudounCountyCourt

 THE PINCER MOVEMENT: How LCPS Bypassed Parental Consent to Facilitate Principal-Level Targeting

DATE: February 17, 2026

Last week, a series of events occurred within Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) that should alarm every parent concerned with civil rights, data integrity, and the safety of students with disabilities.

What began as a formal legal request for an Administrative Stay ended in the unauthorized transportation of my son, Charles Rubis, and a targeted interaction with a Principal at the center of a federal whistleblower disclosure.

The "Information Blockade" and the Scrubbed Record

On Monday, February 9, 2026, at 8:00 AM, I served LCPS Leadership, including the Principals of Lowes Island Elementary and Seneca Ridge Middle School, with a formal Revocation of Consent to Transport and an Administrative Stay on all transition activities.

Later that evening, I filed a formal Federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Complaint and a VDOE Special Education Complaint, specifically naming Seneca Ridge Principal Nick Cottone for a multi-year pattern of administrative fraud.

The District’s response was a total "Digital Blockade."

  • The "Empty" Email: On Wednesday, February 11, Teacher Crystal McHan issued an email regarding the field trip that was entirely blank—devoid of itinerary or safety data.

  • The Selective Notification: While the District suppressed information about the Seneca Ridge trip, the transportation system was perfectly capable of sending me automated "Bus Delay" notifications for my other son at Dominion High School. The system wasn't broken; it was being manually manipulated to keep me in the dark regarding Charles.

The Unauthorized Transport and Targeted Retaliation

Despite my formal revocation of consent, LCPS willfully transported Charles to Seneca Ridge on Thursday, February 12.

Per a verified transcript of my discussion with my son, the visit was used as a venue for Targeted Retaliation:

  1. The Cottone Interaction: Principal Nick Cottone—the subject of my OCR complaint—personally singled out my son. He identified Charles not by his own name, but as "Rex’s brother," referencing my older son who previously attended the school.

  2. The High-Five: Mr. Cottone initiated physical contact with my son. This is a chilling act of intimidation given that Mr. Cottone formally asserted in writing in October 2023 that he "does not know" my family. His ability to identify Charles on sight proves that 2023 statement was Administrative Fraud.

  3. Triggering the Disability: Following this interaction, staff (using Crystal McHan’s email account, though sent by Sarah Gettys) confirmed that Charles was later "shouted at" and traumatized by a teacher for a minor line-cutting incident—conduct he was told was acceptable earlier in the day. For a student with an Emotional Disability, this arbitrary verbal aggression triggered the exact clinical markers (anxiety and shutdown) documented in his IEP.

The Qlik Connection: Data Deletion as Defense?

On Friday, February 13, the District admitted to a "Data Deletion" event involving the Qlik platform. This vendor has a documented history of adversarial coordination targeted at my professional reputation. Executing a mass data extraction and deletion during an active VDOE and OCR investigation is the height of "Deliberate Indifference" and a potential spoliation of life-safety records.

The Demand for Accountability

This morning, I served the LCPS Superintendent and the Office of Division Counsel with a formal notice of these violations. The "non-chalant" disregard for parental rights has reached a breaking point. I have demanded the immediate administrative removal of Nick Cottone and a permanent feeder-pattern change for my son to ensure he is no longer subjected to this hostile environment.

Below is the formal notice I served to LCPS Leadership at 8:00 AM this morning:

TO: Dr. Aaron Spence, Superintendent; Office of Division Counsel, LCPS CC: Shontel Simon (Chief of HR); Andrew Davis (Executive Principal); Gus Martinez (Executive Principal); Tedra Richardson (Asst. Superintendent); LCPS School Board; Dan Adams (FOIA Officer); VDOE Office of Dispute Resolution (Case #C26-393) 

DATE: February 17, 2026 

RE: NOTICE OF STATUTORY AND POLICY VIOLATIONS; DEMAND FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION

Dear Dr. Spence and Office of Division Counsel:

This notice is issued to document a series of escalating violations of Federal law, Virginia Code, and LCPS Policy occurring between February 9 and February 13, 2026. These actions constitute a willful disregard for the Administrative Stay and Revocation of Consent served to the District on February 9, 2026, at 8:00 AM ET.

I. FORENSIC TIMELINE AND STATUTORY VIOLATIONS

The following timeline establishes a Causal Nexus of Retaliation following my February 9 whistleblower disclosures and federal filings:

  • Feb 9, 8:00 AM: Formal Revocation of Consent and Cease & Desist.

    • Action: Parent served a formal stay on the Seneca Ridge Middle School (SRMS) transition, specifically naming Principal Nick Cottone as a recipient.

    • Violation: 8VAC20-81-170 (Parental Consent); LCPS Policy 5040.

  • Feb 9, 6:45 PM: Filing of Federal (OCR) and State (VDOE) Complaints.

    • Action: Parent initiated protected activity under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the IDEA.

    • Policy Citation: LCPS Policy 7561 (Anti-Retaliation).

  • Feb 11: Manual Suppression of Field Trip Data.

    • Action: Teacher Crystal McHan issued a blank email regarding the SRMS trip itinerary while ParentVue remained "scrubbed" of safety data.

    • Violation: FERPA (20 U.S.C. § 1232g); VA Code § 2.2-3704 (FOIA record integrity).

  • Feb 12: Unauthorized Transport of a Minor.

    • Action: District transported the Student to SRMS via bus in direct defiance of the Feb 9 revocation of consent.

    • Violation: VA Code § 22.1-3; 34 C.F.R. § 300.300.

  • Feb 12: Targeted Interaction by Principal Nick Cottone.

    • Action: Principal Cottone sought out the Student, identified him by relation to Rex Rubis (a former SRMS student), and initiated physical contact.

    • Violation: VA Code § 18.2-468 (Administrative Fraud) regarding Cottone’s Oct 13, 2023, written denial of knowledge of this family.

  • Feb 12: Punitive Discipline and IEP Failure.

    • Action: Staff shouted at the Student for a non-safety "line-cutting" incident, triggering clinical anxiety markers documented in the April 2025 IEP.

    • Violation: 34 C.F.R. § 300.320 (Failure to implement IEP/Behavioral supports); LCPS Policy 8210.

  • Feb 13: Mass Data Deletion Event (Qlik).

    • Action: District admitted to "extracting and deleting" data from the platform managed by Qlik. This vendor has a documented history of adversarial coordination with Lindsay Mohler and Troxel Leigh P.C. targeted directly at the Parent regarding the misrepresentation of my departure from the firm, intended to explicitly harm me both reputationally and financially.

    • Violation: VA Code § 42.1-76 (Virginia Public Records Act); Adverse Inference regarding record spoliation during a pending state investigation.

II. ADMINISTRATIVE NEXUS AND FOIA WITHHOLDING The District continues to withhold records under FOIA #R001978-020925 involving coordination with Lindsay Mohler and Troxel Leigh P.C. Despite remittance of payment, the District’s failure to produce these records—concurrent with the manual suppression of the Feb 11 itinerary—prevents the verification of administrative neutrality required under LCPS Policy 7310.

III. ACCRUED DAMAGES ($2,148,000.00+) The District’s disregard for the February 9 notice—and the subsequent emotional trauma inflicted upon a student with an Emotional Disability—has exponentially increased the $2,148,000.00 in documented economic damages previously disclosed.

IV. MANDATORY CORRECTIVE ACTION I demand the following immediate remedies to mitigate further civil rights and tort liability:

  1. Administrative Removal: Immediate leave and termination proceedings for Principal Nick Cottone for Administrative Fraud and the willful violation of a formal Cease & Desist. Furthermore, Mr. Cottone’s actions on February 12—specifically his singling out and initiation of contact with the minor Student—constitute explicit retaliatory actions under Section 504 and the IDEA following my February 9 federal and state filings.

  2. Permanent Administrative Accommodation: An immediate feeder-pattern change for Charles Rubis, moving him out of the LIES/SRMS nexus to a neutral educational environment.

  3. Data Integrity Verification: A written audit confirming that Charles Rubis's records were excluded from the Feb 13 "extraction and deletion" event involving the Qlik platform.

Sincerely,

Steven Rubis

#NickCottone #SMRS #SenecaRidgeMiddleSchool #LCPS #LoudounCountyPublicSchools #LoudounCounty #AaronSpence #LoudounCountySchoolBoard #TitleIX #retaliation #LindsayMohler #TroxelLeigh

#LCPS #LoudounCountyPublicSchools #NickCottone #SenecaRidgeMiddleSchool #SMRS #LowesIslandElementarySchool #LIES #DominionHighSchool #DHS #AaronSpence #LoudounCounty #TroxelLeigh #LindsayMohler #GarethBowen #JohnWhitbeck #whitbeckbeglis #whitbeckbennett

#LoudounCounty #Loudoun #LoudounCountyVirginia #LoudounCountyCourt #OfficeofCivilRights #departmentofeducation #OCR #virginiadepartmentofeducation

#qlik #QLIK #thomabravo #qliksense #dennisjohnson #mikecapone #debbielofton #orlandobravo

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