U.S. Department of Education Finds Denver Public Schools Violated Title IX by Implementing All-Gender Bathrooms

The U.S. Department of Education said Thursday that Denver Public Schools (DPS) violated Title IX, federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools, by implementing all-gender bathrooms and allowing students to use facilities based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened the investigation in January after the district remodeled a girls’ restroom into an all-gender bathroom at East High School. The office cited Title IX regulations that require equal access to sex-specific bathrooms.

Changes Followed Student-Led Process

Denver Public Schools remodeled the bathrooms with high partitions. District leaders said the redesign resulted from a student-led process and that the all-gender bathrooms at East High included 12-foot-tall partitions around toilets for privacy and security.

Federal authorities disagreed, however. In a statement, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said the decision violated Title IX by “denying students equal access to facilities and creating what they describe as a ‘hostile environment.’”

The district added a second all-gender bathroom on the same floor of East High to address concerns. The school district also said students had access to traditional sex-specific bathrooms and single-stall, all-gender restrooms throughout the school.

Resolution Plan Issued by Federal Government

The Education Department issued a proposed resolution to Denver Public Schools on Thursday, requiring the district to meet four conditions within 10 days or face enforcement action.

If the school district does not make the changes, officials could take measures up to and including the loss of federal funding.

The resolution would require the district to:

• Redesignate all all-gender multi-stall restrooms back to sex-specific facilities.
• Remove policies that allow students to use bathrooms based on gender identity rather than biological sex.
• Update all Title IX policies and practices to reflect “biology-based definitions” of “male” and “female.”
• Send a memorandum to schools and staff affirming that restrooms must protect student privacy, dignity, and safety, and must be equally accessible to both sexes.

Department Cites Student Safety, Privacy

In the statement, Trainor accused the district of endangering student safety, privacy, and dignity by implementing policies and practices that “fly in the face of basic biology and common sense.”

“Their conversion of a sex-segregated restroom to an ‘all-gender’ facility was particularly indefensible, given that girls already had a restroom of their own that was roughly equivalent to the boys’ restroom,” he continued.

“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,” Trainor said. “The Trump Administration will work relentlessly to hold accountable school districts that harbor the ideological fanatics and policies that sully students’ educational experience with sex discrimination.”

District Has Defended Decision-Making Process

Denver Public Schools has defended its policy changes as being responsive to students. The district said students recommended the all-gender bathroom be added to address their needs.

DPS has not publicly responded to the department’s recent decision but previously said that students had access to a variety of bathroom options, including traditional male- and female-designated bathrooms as well as single-stall, all-gender restrooms for those who want additional privacy.

Denver Case Part of Larger National Conversation

The dispute in Denver is part of a larger national conversation over gender identity policies in schools. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March banning transgender girls from competing on sports teams that do not align with their biological sex.

Republican lawmakers in Congress have introduced legislation to prohibit transgender students from using bathrooms or participating on sports teams that align with their gender identity.

The Trump administration’s Education Department has pursued several cases on gender policies at schools and universities in recent months. This week, the department announced that George Mason University in Virginia violated Title VI by maintaining unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices.

What’s Next

Denver Public Schools now has a decision to make: comply with the federal resolution or face enforcement actions that could lead to loss of federal funding.The district has 10 days to respond to the Education Department’s findings and must decide if it will rescind its all-gender bathroom policies.