Denver Public Schools accused of violating Title IX

By Esther Wickham
The Center Square

The U.S. Department of Education for Civil Rights announced this week that Denver Public Schools’ policies on “all-gender” facilities violate Title IX.

The department’s Office of Civil Rights on Thursday noted the Denver school district changed its girls’ restrooms into all-gender bathrooms. It said that action and the district’s policies in its “Denver Public Schools LGBTQ+ Toolkit,” which allows students to use facilities based on their gender identity, violate Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.

The DPS LGBTQ+ toolkit, which all schools in the district provide, includes practices and policies to support LGBTQ+ students, staff and families in Denver Public Schools.

“The Trump Administration will not allow these radical practices to continue,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote on X.

The OCR continues to launch investigations into potential Title IX and Title VI violations against schools and colleges across the country, one of the Trump administration’s priorities in upholding anti-discrimination laws.

“This (all-gender) restroom serves all students, including those who may feel uncomfortable in gender-specific facilities and aligns with our values of supporting every student,” said Scott Pribble, director of external communications for Denver Public Schools.

On Jan. 28, Denver Public Schools became subject to a Title IX investigation by the Trump administration.

“[T]he District is creating a hostile environment for its students by endangering their safety, privacy, and dignity while denying them access to equal educational activities and opportunities,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. “Denver is free to endorse a self-defeating gender ideology, but it is not free to accept federal taxpayer funds and harm its students in violation of Title IX.”

The Office of Civil Rights has issued a Resolution Agreement to Denver Public Schools to resolve its Title IX violations within 10 days or “risk imminent enforcement action.”

“Denver Public Schools has received the findings from the Office for Civil Rights for case number 08-25-5901 and is determining our next steps,” Pribble told The Center Square.

According to the Resolution Agreement, DPS must take the following actions:

• Convert and redesignate all multi-stall restrooms for use by both sexes in any District school back to sex-designated multi-stall restrooms.

• Rescind any policies or guidance that allow students to access intimate facilities based on ‘gender identity,’ not biological sex (including components of the “Denver Public Schools LGBTQ+ Toolkit”).

• Issue a memorandum to all District schools reiterating that schools must provide intimate facilities that protect the privacy, dignity, and safety of its students and are comparably accessible to each sex, and that Title IX compliance ensures female students may not be discriminated against in any education program or activity.

• Adopt biology-based definitions for the words “male” and “female” in all policies and practices related to Title IX.