Denver Public Schools' Title IX Violation: OCR Findings and Next Steps
The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently informed Denver Public Schools that their policies regarding restroom facilities violate Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded educational programs. The District's conversion of sex-separated restrooms to all-gender facilities and its LGBTQ+ Toolkit policies were found to be in violation of Title IX.
The investigation was initiated in January after East High School converted a girls' restroom into an all-gender bathroom. Following this, the district converted a boys' restroom to an all-gender facility to address concerns of fairness and parity across facilities. Students still have access to gender-specific restrooms and single-stall gender-neutral bathrooms.
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor emphasized the Trump Administration's commitment to holding school districts accountable for policies that discriminate based on sex. The Department has given DPS 10 days to agree to a proposed resolution or face enforcement action.
The Department outlined specific actions for DPS to take to address the violation of Title IX. Despite the district's efforts to add more all-gender bathrooms, OCR stated that the issue persists as males are still allowed to enter sensitive female-only facilities. Complaints from female students about feeling uncomfortable due to boys' behavior in the restroom were cited as evidence of the violation.
Denver Public Schools acknowledged receiving the findings from OCR and is currently evaluating their next steps in response to the Title IX violation.