The US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has determined that Denver Public Schools (DPS) violated Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs. This landmark investigation, launched on January 28, 2025, marked the first high-profile Title IX probe under the Trump Administration’s OCR and has ignited a national debate over gender policies in public schools. DPS’s decision to convert sex-segregated restrooms into all-gender facilities, alongside guidance allowing students to use intimate spaces aligned with their “gender identity,” was found to compromise the safety, dignity, and equal access of female students.At East High School, the impact was immediate. A female-designated second-floor restroom was converted to an all-gender facility, leaving female students without exclusive access while male students continued to use male-only restrooms elsewhere. Complaints from students and parents detailed discomfort, harassment, and concerns over privacy, with one student noting boys “kept staring…looking her up and down, kind of taunting her.” DPS’s attempt to mitigate the issue by converting boys’ restrooms into all-gender facilities failed to address the imbalance, leaving female students feeling exposed and vulnerable, and highlighting the real-world consequences of abstract policy decisions.
The imperative of Title IX compliance
OCR determined that DPS’s guidance permitting restroom access based on gender identity violated Title IX. The “Denver Public Schools LGBTQ+ Toolkit,” intended to support transgender and non-binary students, allowed males to enter spaces historically reserved for females, creating conditions that federal law explicitly prohibits.To rectify these violations, OCR issued a proposed Resolution Agreement requiring DPS to:
- Reconvert all multi-stall restrooms to sex-designated facilities;
- Rescind policies that allow access based on gender identity;
- Issue a memorandum ensuring student privacy, dignity, and compliance with Title IX;
- Adopt biology-based definitions of “male” and “female” in all relevant policies.
This case underscores the complex balance schools must strike between inclusivity and federal civil rights compliance. Title IX guarantees that no student can be denied equitable access or subjected to sex-based discrimination. Denver’s situation serves as a cautionary tale, illustrating how well-meaning policies can conflict with federal protections and leave students vulnerable. The ruling sends a clear signal nationwide: the safety, dignity, and equal rights of students cannot be compromised, even amid evolving debates over gender identity in education.
