The U.S. Department of Education said Thursday that Denver Public Schools discriminated against students in violation of Title IX by creating all-gender bathrooms and letting students use facilities based on gender identity, not biological sex.

The federal investigation into Title IX, which bans sex discrimination in education, began in January after the district converted a girls’ restroom at East High School into an all-gender bathroom, officials with the department’s Office for Civil Rights said in a letter to the district.

In the letter, the department said the district’s decision to convert the bathroom at East High School, and to permit students to use any bathroom that corresponded to their gender identity, did not comply with federal requirements for sex equity under Title IX.

District Changed Restroom Facilities After Student-Led Process

District officials said the move to convert the girls’ restroom into an all-gender facility, while another restroom nearby on the same floor remained sex-specific for boys, came after a process led by students. They also said the restrooms were outfitted with 12-foot-tall partitions around the toilets to ensure privacy and security.

But the Department of Education said the change was a violation of the district’s obligation to comply with Title IX, which guarantees equal access to students regardless of sex. In a statement, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said the district’s decision “denied students equal access to the bathroom facilities” and contributed to a “hostile environment.”

District added second all-gender restroom for equity concerns

A second all-gender restroom was added to the same floor of East High School later to address the equity concerns, district officials said. They also said that all students have the option of using either the sex-specific bathrooms for males or females, or any of the single-stall, all-gender restrooms located throughout the school.

In a proposed resolution letter to the district, the Department of Education listed four requirements that the district would need to implement within 10 days to avoid federal enforcement. They are:

Remove the district’s all-gender multi-stall restrooms and re-designate them as male or female restrooms.

Eliminate any policies, practices, or procedures that allow students to use any bathroom other than those designated for males or females based on their biological sex at birth.

Define “male” and “female” in all district Title IX policies and other practices based on biology, and not on a student’s gender identity.

Issue a written memorandum to schools, leaders, teachers, and students that “states that each school shall ensure that its intimate facilities provide privacy, dignity, and safety for all students and are accessible to students of each biological sex to an equal degree.”

The district must respond within 10 days or risk enforcement, including loss of federal funds.

Trainor accused the district of “endangering student safety, privacy, and dignity” by allowing students to use the restrooms that correspond with their gender identity and by converting a restroom for girls at East High School into an all-gender bathroom.

“The District, in effect, decided to deny its students equal access to restrooms in violation of Title IX,” Trainor said. “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. 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 Says All Gender Bathrooms Formed From Student Input

The district defended its bathroom policy decision, saying it came from a process led by students. It said the decision to create all-gender multi-stall bathrooms at the school, and at all schools across the district, was made to meet the needs of students, while still ensuring privacy and security through the use of partitions on the toilets.

The district has not responded to the department’s latest findings. In a previous statement, the district said it is “committed to ensuring a safe and welcoming environment for all students,” and that it continues to offer a variety of bathroom options for students, including single-stall restrooms if they need additional privacy.

Decision Part of Larger Fight Over Student Privacy

The East High School bathroom debate is one front in a national conflict over policies for transgender students in schools. Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender girls from participating in sports that do not correspond to their biological sex.

GOP members of Congress also are working on legislation to prevent transgender students from using bathrooms and sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.

The Trump administration has been active in trying to determine how schools should implement bathroom and gender policies with respect to transgender students. Earlier this week, the Department of Education said George Mason University violated federal law by having unlawful DEI practices, under Title VI.

As Next Step, District Must Now Respond

Denver Public Schools now has to decide whether it will commit to reversing its all-gender bathroom policies and submit to the resolution proposed by the U.S. Department of Education, or face the possibility of losing millions of dollars in federal funding.

The district has 10 days to respond to the findings and make a determination on whether it should roll back its all-gender bathroom policy at East High School.