Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado is in litigation before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit for allowing boys to share accommodations with girls on overnight field trips, which is against their own policy.
Now the bureaucrats are in more trouble.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on March 13 announced that the school district violated Title IX by allowing boys access to girls’ restrooms, locker rooms, overnight accommodations, and sports teams.
“OCR concluded that Jefferson County’s policies allowing access to intimate facilities and participation in sports based on ‘gender identity’ discriminates against females by denying them safety, dignity, and equal access to educational programs and activities,” the press release read. “OCR received athletic rosters from Jefferson County indicating that male students may occupy up to 61 roster positions on girls’ sports teams in the District.”
Joe and Serena Wailes sued the school district after their then 11-year-old daughter learned that she was to share not just a hotel room with a boy but the bed as well. The boy told her while inside the room that they’d be sleeping in the same bed.
Panicked, the girl went into the bathroom and called her mother, Serena, who was a chaperone on the trip. Serena had her daughter moved to a different room. The school violated their own policy, which stated that boys and girls would be assigned to different floors.
The parents said the school did not notify them about the policy violation. They and the other parents who joined the lawsuit want clarification.
In the meantime, Jefferson County Public Schools has to contend with the Trump administration.
“The District must act now to end these violations and protect future generations of girls from sex discrimination,” said Kimberly Richey, assistant secretary for Civil Rights. “The Trump Administration will not relent until female athletes’ safety, opportunities, and equal protection under the law are fully restored.”
The Office for Civil Rights issued a proposed Resolution Agreement to the school district to resolve its Title IX violations within 10 days or risk imminent enforcement action.
The Jefferson County Public Schools must, among other things, rescind or revise any policies that violate girls’ privacy and undermine their safety, and issue a statement that specifies that Title IX trumps any other law or regulation that contradicts Title IX.
The school district also must provide instructions for how to report or file a complaint of sex discrimination under the school district’s own grievance policies.
Imagine sending your 11-year-old daughter on an overnight trip only to learn that the school roomed her with a male student… without your knowledge or consent.
It happened to our clients in CO. And it’s why we are standing with them to sue the district.pic.twitter.com/T6tFVGzfGL
— Kristen Waggoner (@KristenWaggoner) September 5, 2024
