In an announcement Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education said Denver Public Schools (DPS) violated federal Title IX rules by creating all-gender bathrooms and permitting students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity and not their biological sex.

The decision from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights stems from an investigation opened in January focused on East High School, where the district converted a girls restroom to an all-gender facility.

At the time, district officials maintained that the decision was taken after a student-led process to understand and review school bathroom policies. Furthermore, the district has said that its all-gender bathrooms included 12-foot-tall partitions on every toilet stall to provide privacy and security for all students who may use the bathroom facilities.

Federal officials, on the other hand, have maintained that the district’s decision to convert the girls restroom to an all-gender facility denied other students equal access to school bathrooms and created a “hostile environment.”

School District Responds to Complaint of Discrimination

District officials also said that later in the process, a second all-gender bathroom was added on the same floor to avoid claims of inequity in the school. District officials have further said that, in East High School, students still had access to traditional male and female restroom facilities, as well as single-stall all-gender restrooms throughout the school.

On Thursday, the Education Department sent Denver Public Schools a draft resolution agreement, giving the district 10 days to either agree to the four proposed changes or face possible enforcement action that could cost the district millions in federal funding.

In the resolution, the Department of Education asks the district to:

1. Change all all-gender multi-stall restrooms to either male or female restrooms.
2. Remove all policies that allow students to access bathrooms based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex.
3. Include “biology-based definitions” for “male” and “female” in any and all policies and procedures related to Title IX in the district’s policies and training procedures.

Send a memorandum to all DPS schools and offices making clear that “restrooms are intended to ensure the privacy, dignity, and safety of all students and staff, and must continue to be available and comparable to students and staff of each sex.”

Department of Education: Decision Violated Title IX

In a statement, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said DPS decision to change a girls restroom into an all-gender facility violated the terms of Title IX. He went on to say that the district’s policies also allowed students to use the school’s locker rooms and intimate facilities based on their gender identity and not their biological sex.

“This is yet another example of policies that endanger student safety, privacy, and dignity,” Trainor said in a statement. “The Trump Administration will work relentlessly to hold accountable school districts that embrace the ideological fanatics and their policies that sully students’ educational experience with sex discrimination.”

Denver Defends Its Policy Change

Denver Public Schools has defended its decision to create all-gender bathrooms at East High School by saying students played a key role in determining and developing those policy changes.

District leaders have said the decision to create all-gender facilities was meant to respond to the needs of students and to ensure their privacy and security.

While Denver Public Schools has not yet issued a public response to the Department of Education’s letter on Thursday, the district previously said that students in DPS have a range of bathroom options throughout schools, including single-stall, all-gender restrooms that are available for students seeking additional privacy.

This isn’t the first time, however, that DPS has come into conflict with federal officials over the issue.

In August, federal officials said DPS violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act when it failed to protect students from acts of intimidation and harassment in an incident involving an anti-Semitic mural in an open workspace at a district facility.

Denver Dispute Part of Larger Debate on Gender Policies

The Denver dispute over gender identity policies in schools comes as part of a broader national debate on the topic.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning transgender girls and women from participating in sports teams that do not align with their biological sex.

Republican lawmakers in Congress have introduced legislation that would prevent transgender students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Similar bills have been passed in multiple states in recent years.

The U.S. Department of Education has been involved in several gender identity cases in schools and universities. For example, this week, federal officials issued a decision finding that George Mason University violated federal Title VI law by including unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices.

What’s next for Denver Public Schools?

Denver Public Schools will have to decide by the end of next week whether it will accept the resolution agreement with the Education Department or risk enforcement action against the district that could cost millions of federal dollars.

The district now has 10 days to review the agreement and either sign it or push back on the federal findings, likely maintaining its all-gender bathroom policies.