Denver Schools in Hot Water Over All-Gender Restrooms

The U.S. Department of Education said Thursday that Denver Public Schools violated Title IX, the federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in education, by creating all-gender bathrooms in the school district and allowing students to use facilities based on their gender identity instead of their biological sex.

The Office for Civil Rights in the Education Department said the decision by the Denver school district to transform a bathroom for girls into an all-gender bathroom at East High School didn’t line up with federal rules under Title IX.

A Letter of Findings, or investigative report, was released from federal officials. The letter detailed the findings after an Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation in January at the request of a concerned citizen.

The Denver school district initially redid the bathroom for girls to be an all-gender restroom while another restroom on the same floor of East High School remained a bathroom for boys only. District leaders said the decision was made after a process led by students in the school and it was designed with 12-foot-tall partitions around toilets.

However, officials in the federal government said the policy violated Title IX requirements, which are meant to ensure equal access for all students to public education. Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a statement that the decision by the district left other students with an unequal amount of privacy and access and it created a “hostile environment.”

The district added a second all-gender bathroom on the same floor of the school to quell the idea of unequal access to restrooms. District leaders also noted that at East High School and across Denver Public Schools, students continue to have access to traditional sex-separated bathrooms for males and females as well as single-stall, all-gender bathrooms.

Federal Government Issues Plan to Fix Situation

Denver Public Schools received a proposed resolution from federal officials that lays out four requirements the district has 10 days to meet in order to avoid any enforcement action by the department.

If the district doesn’t agree to the plan or doesn’t follow through, it could face action from federal officials that could lead to a loss of federal funding.

Under the proposed resolution, the school district would have to:

1. Convert all all-gender, multi-stall restrooms back to sex-specific facilities.
2. End policies that “permit students to access the school’s intimate facilities based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex.”
3. Require the use of “biology-based definitions” of “male” and “female” in all policies and practices related to Title IX.
4. Send a memorandum to schools reaffirming that bathrooms must meet the privacy, dignity, and safety of all students while remaining “comparably accessible to both sexes.”

Federal officials have raised concern with the bathroom changes at East High School, particularly with safety and privacy.

Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a statement that the decision by the school district to transform a girls’ bathroom into an all-gender bathroom and allowing students to access bathrooms according to their gender identity violated Title IX.

“This deprives other students of equal privacy and access to the facilities and creates a ‘hostile environment,’ all in the name of political ideology,” Trainor said.

The district has continued to push back against the decision from federal officials. It has defended the all-gender bathroom and the process to make the decision, which involved input from students.

The district has not yet released a response to the department’s letter and proposed resolution but has said in the past that students at the school still have several options when it comes to choosing a bathroom. It has also said the process to make the changes was guided by students.

“We know many of our schools are actively working to address the evolving needs of students in developing all-gender restrooms, as part of a broader effort to ensure all students feel safe, supported, and successful at school,” the district previously said in a statement on the topic.

“This is especially true for East High School, where current efforts are being led by a diverse group of students,” the statement continued. “We are confident that schools across Denver Public Schools are ensuring all students have access to appropriate restroom facilities, which include single stall, all gender restrooms for anyone seeking additional privacy.”

Denver’s Case Part of Larger National Fight

The decision by Denver Public Schools on all-gender bathrooms for students is part of a larger debate happening around the country on the topic.

President Donald Trump earlier this year signed an executive order banning transgender girls from participating in sports on teams that don’t line up with their biological sex. In Congress, Republican lawmakers have also introduced legislation that would bar transgender students from using bathrooms and playing sports according to their gender identity.

The Education Department has seen other cases involving policies that revolve around gender identity in schools and universities. The department just this week announced it found that George Mason University violated federal law by using unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies under Title VI.

What’s Next in Denver

Denver Public Schools now has to determine how it wants to move forward. The school district has 10 days to respond to the Education Department’s letter and decide whether it will roll back its all-gender bathroom policies.

District leaders have to consider whether they will give in to the demands from the federal government that could lead to enforcement and the loss of federal funding or fight the decision in court.

The case is a prime example of the tension between the federal government and local school districts on how they should deal with issues like gender identity, privacy, and equality at schools.