The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) said Thursday that Denver Public Schools (DPS) violated federal sex discrimination law Title IX by implementing all-gender restrooms at East High School and allowing students to use facilities that aligned with their gender identity rather than biological sex.

The DOE said Thursday that the district’s Office of Civil Rights initiated an investigation in January into the all-gender bathroom implemented at the high school and found that the new facility design and bathroom access policies were not consistent with federal law and its requirements under Title IX.

DOE Announces Title IX Violations

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) determined that the district’s change to an all-gender bathroom at East High School violated Title IX, since the restroom replaced a girls’ restroom and another bathroom on the same floor remained single-sex for boys. In response to the move, district officials said the new restroom opened after a student-led process and new bathroom facility also had partitions around each toilet and urinal that were 12 feet tall to ensure safety and privacy for students.

OCR said Thursday that DPS’s bathroom changes and access policies violated Title IX regulations. In a statement, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said that the district decision denied students equal access to bathrooms at the school and created a “hostile environment” for students by effectively allowing some students to use facilities where boys or girls go to the bathroom without also giving other students the same opportunity.

The district later implemented another all-gender bathroom on the same floor to remedy concerns about fairness in bathroom access. Officials have also noted that students still have access to male and female single-sex bathrooms and single-stall all-gender restrooms throughout the school.

DOE to Require Changes to Title IX Policies

In a letter to Denver Public Schools, the DOE included a resolution plan, which the district will have 10 days to accept or reject. If the district does not agree with the resolution, the federal government will likely move forward with enforcement actions, which could include monetary penalties, and it could also cut off federal funds.

In the resolution, the DOE said that Denver Public Schools must:

Remove the all-gender designations from any multi-stall restrooms and re-establish them as sex-segregated facilities.

Revoke any policies and practices that “permit students to use sex-separate intimate facilities on a basis other than their biological sex.”

“Repeal the definition of ‘sex’ as gender identity in the Student Grievance Procedure and the Code of Student Conduct” and replace it with “biology-based definitions of ‘male’ and ‘female.’”

Require schools to provide a written notice that says the school’s bathrooms, locker rooms, and shower facilities “must ensure the privacy, dignity, and safety of all students and must be comparable in quality, accessibility, and proximity to students of each biological sex.”

Denver Public Schools said Thursday that it had no immediate comment on the DOE decision.

Title IX Provides for Gender Privacy, Equity

In his statement Thursday, Trainor criticized the district’s decision to allow students to use bathrooms based on their gender identity rather than biological sex.

“The decision by the Denver Public Schools to alter its high school’s restrooms in this manner endangered student safety, privacy, and dignity,” Trainor said.

“DPS violated Title IX and its implementing regulations by designating a sex-segregated restroom for girls at East High School as an ‘all-gender’ facility and by allowing students to use the high school’s intimate facilities on the basis of their gender identity rather than their biological sex,” he continued.

“DPS 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 added. “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.”

Students, Parents Were Involved in Decision

Denver Public Schools officials have said that they were committed to allowing students to use facilities of their choice and that the changes at East High School came at the request of students and after a yearlong process to consider student input.

A district spokesperson said the bathrooms were designed to better meet students’ needs while still maintaining privacy and security. The district said students continued to have a “variety of bathroom options, including single-stall restrooms for any student who seeks additional privacy.”

The DOE has been involved in a number of disputes over bathroom and locker room policies related to gender identity. In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would prevent transgender girls from being able to play on sports teams not consistent with their biological sex.

The Republican-led effort would direct federal education and sports officials to begin to a policy to restrict transgender athletes from participating in school sports if they are not aligned with their biological sex. Congress’s Republican lawmakers have also introduced legislation that would restrict transgender students from using bathrooms or playing on sports teams that are consistent with their gender identity.

The DOE has opened investigations over bathroom policies based on gender identity in schools and universities. The department just last week announced that George Mason University (GMU) had discriminated against students with its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies under Title VI.