7 days ago
Education Department investigating Jeffco schools for Title IX concerns on 2023 school trip
DENVER (KDVR) — The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights is taking actions throughout June to honor the 53rd anniversary of Title IX being signed into law, and one of the first actions announced Monday is directed at Jefferson County Public Schools.
Title IX is a federal civil rights law that was enacted in 1972, prohibiting sex-based discrimination in any school or educational program that receives federal funding.
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The federal department said Monday that it will direct investigations into the University of Wyoming and Jeffco Public Schools 'for allegedly allowing males to join and live in female-only intimate and communal spaces.'
The Department of Education said it notified Jeffco Schools' superintendent about the investigation, stating the investigation is for the district's policy regarding overnight accommodations and gender identity.
On July 24 of last year, the district's board of education revised an existing policy for transgender students, stating that students have a right to be addressed by the name and pronouns associated with their gender identity, be able to use restrooms assigned to their gender identity consistently asserted at school and creating a case-by-case framework for transgender or gender nonconforming students who need to use a locker room 'with the goals of maximizing the student's social integration and equal opportunity to participate in physical educations classes and (sports).'
The policy specifically addresses overnight stay accommodations as well, which is also determined on a case-by-case basis, according to the policy, but with the goals of maximizing the student's social integration and providing equal opportunity to participate in overnight activity and athletic trips.
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'In most cases, students who are transgender should be assigned to share overnight accommodations with other students that share the student's gender identity consistently asserted at school,' the policy states. 'Any alternative arrangement should be provided in a way that allows the student's transgender status to be kept confidential. Under no circumstance shall a student who is transgender be required to share a room with students whose gender identity conflicts with their own.'
The Education Department said the district's policy removes 'the safeguard of single-sex overnight accommodations.'
'This comes amid several disturbing reports, including that parents of an 11-year-old girl in the district discovered their daughter would have had to share a bed with a male student on an overnight school trip without being notified by the school,' the U.S. Department of Education asserted in a press release. 'The district allegedly misleads parents by informing them that girls and boys will be separated for overnight accommodations without divulging that its definition of 'girl' includes boys who claim a female identity.'
FOX31 spoke with the parents of the referenced 11-year-old girl in December 2023, who said the trip was to Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia during the summer of 2023. The girl was sharing a hotel room with three other girls.
'Her bedmate informed her that he was a boy who identifies as transgender,' the girl's mother told FOX31.
The mother was also on the trip and said her daughter called her from the bathroom.
'She actually got along really well with the other student, but just felt uncomfortable with the idea of being in bed with a biological boy,' she said.
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Jeffco Schools provided FOX31 with this statement in December 2023:
'Regarding the December 4 demand letter to Jeffco Public Schools from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF): In Jeffco Public Schools, student safety is paramount and partnership with families is a priority. We take this situation seriously. Because the district was only recently informed, and the trip occurred outside of the school year and through a private travel organization, we are still determining facts. However, it appears that the student's transgender status was not known when room assignments were made and our understanding is that as soon as their transgender identity was known, room assignments were adjusted. We are working with the private travel organization to learn more and we anticipate a more detailed response by December 18 as ADF requests.'
Jefferson County Public Schools
Secretary of Education Linda McMahan said the recognition of Title IX Month demonstrates the department's goal 'to honor women's hard-earned civil rights and demonstrate the Trump Administration's unwavering commitment to restoring them to the fullest extent of the law.'
'This Administration will fight on every front to protect women's and girls' sports, intimate spaces, dormitories and living quarters, and fraternal and panhellenic organizations,' McMahon said in the announcement.
The school district provided a statement on the pending investigation to FOX31 on Monday.
'Jeffco Public Schools follows all Colorado state laws when it comes to how we treat students, staff and families. There is nothing in the language of Title IX that prohibits the degree of protection that the State of Colorado provides. Overnight accommodations are managed in accordance with district policy regulation JB-R2, which is grounded in Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), specifically Rule 81.9 – Gender-Segregated Facilities.
Families always have the ultimate choice whether their student participates in any unique programming that involves overnight accommodations. We are unwavering in our commitment to the well-being of our students, staff, and families, and we strictly adhere to all Colorado state laws governing their treatment.
Jefferson County Public Schools spokesperson
It's unclear what will be involved in the investigation.
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