Title IX Controversy: Denver Schools under Investigation Over All-Gender Restrooms; Many Parents Outraged

Denver, CO (RDL) – The Department of Education’s enforcement department informed Denver Public Schools that it will look into how the district established all-gender restrooms in many school buildings.

The Office of Civil Rights said in a letter to the DPS superintendent on Tuesday that it will launch a Title IX inquiry into whether the school district discriminated against female students by converting a women’s restroom into an all-gender facility.

“OCR’s directed investigation will examine whether the District discriminates against students on the basis of sex by installing multi-stall all gender restrooms in District school facilities, in violation of Title IX and its implementing regulations,” the letter reads.

The news of the probe, which does not indicate wrongdoing, is yet another departure from the Biden administration’s unsuccessful attempt to broaden the definition of Title IX to include gender identity. During the Biden administration’s last days, a federal judge overturned the rule change.

Denver Public Schools did not respond in time for publication.

Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary of the Office of Civil Rights, stated in a media release that DPS may have broken the law by converting a female bathroom at East High School to an all-gender facility.

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“The alarming report that the Denver Public Schools District denied female students a restroom comparable with their male counterparts appears to directly violate the civil rights of the District’s female students,” Trainor said. 

“Let me be clear: It is a new day in America, and under President Trump, OCR will not tolerate discrimination of any kind,” Trainor added. “I have directed OCR’s Denver regional office to investigate this matter fully.”

Title IX, the federal antidiscrimination law, states that recipients of federal funds “may provide separate toilet, locker room, and shower facilities on the basis of sex, but such facilities provided for students of one sex shall be comparable to such facilities provided for students of the other sex.”

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According to district spokesperson Scott Pribble, the toilet move occurred following the holiday break and was requested by students.

“It was becoming a problem for kids that were trying to go to the bathroom during passing period,” Pribble told the station. “They were running out of time, being late to the next class because the one or two single stall bathrooms that they had to accommodate this just wasn’t enough for the need that was out there.”

The letter to the district quoted a parent’s comments at a school board meeting opposing the adjustment, claiming that the school had “sacrificed the comfort of these young females.”