Jeffco Public Schools headquarters in Golden. (Sage Kelley, The Denver Gazette).
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The Department of Education under the Trump administration, and Donald Trump himself, has been enormously successful at whipping institutions into compliance with executive fiat to discriminate against transgender people. Dozens of hospitals have ended gender-affirming care for transgender youth, nonprofits have dropped all mention of transgender people, Ivy League colleges have enacted numerous anti-trans policies, and newspapers and networks have bowed to his will as he has threatened to weaponize state apparatuses against their free reporting. One spot of resistance has emerged, however: public schools, with local school districts absolutely refusing to comply with the worst of Trump’s demands. Now, Jeffco Public Schools in Colorado, the state’s second-largest school district, has rejected the Department of Education’s demands to discriminate against transgender students on bathrooms, sports and overnight trips, stating that the demands have “no basis” in law and declaring the district would continue to support equality.
According to Trump’s Department of Education, Jeffco Public Schools allowing transgender students to use restrooms, attend overnight trips and play on teams with their friends is a “violation” of Title IX. The administration has taken the view that Title IX mandates discrimination rather than protects from it when it comes to transgender people. After launching an investigation—one of at least 18 similar probes nationwide—the administration quickly found Jeffco out of compliance in what appeared to be a politically motivated and predetermined process. The administration then sent a list of demands: institute a bathroom ban, a sports ban and a definition of sex that would require the exclusion of transgender students entirely, or face “imminent enforcement action.”
Jeffco Public Schools immediately rejected the demands.
“Providing equal access to programs and services for all Jeffco students, including those who are transgender, does not violate Title IX. The Department’s interpretation has no basis in the Title IX regulations and is not supported by any binding court decision. It conflicts with a recent U.S. District of Colorado decision which considered the same Jeffco policies. Prior federal administrations have taken the direct opposite view—that Title IX protects transgender students’ access to school programs and facilities,” read the district’s statement. “As we consider next steps in partnership with our community and state and local officials, two things remain certain: (1) Jeffco will continue to maintain its compliance with the law, and (2) we will center decisions on providing exemplary, equitable educational opportunities for all students.”
Jeffco Public Schools is Colorado’s second-largest school district, serving around 74,000 students across 155 schools. It primarily serves the western edge of the Denver metropolitan area, including communities like Lakewood, Arvada, Golden and Wheat Ridge. The district was the first in Colorado to pass a policy protecting transgender students and has built a record of LGBTQ+ inclusion over the years, including partnering with community organizations to host events like a pride prom for LGBTQ+ students. Transgender students are allowed to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity and are fully included in school activities.
Colorado maintains strong protections for transgender students. The Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination based on gender identity in places of public accommodation, which includes schools, and since 2013 the Colorado Civil Rights Commission has interpreted the law to require that all covered entities—including school districts—allow transgender individuals to use restrooms, locker rooms and other gender-segregated facilities consistent with their gender identity. In 2023, the state legislature passed SB296, requiring schools to accept and investigate reports of harassment or discrimination based on gender identity, and in 2024, HB1039 required school personnel to address students by their chosen names. Last May, Governor Polis signed the Kelly Loving Act, named for a transgender woman killed in the 2022 Club Q shooting, which further expanded anti-discrimination protections and required schools with dress codes to let students choose from any option regardless of gender. Complying with the Department of Education’s demands would mean violating all of these laws.
Jeffco Public Schools is not the only public school system that has rejected the administration’s demands. Denver Public Schools refused to reverse its all-gender restrooms last September, with superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero declaring the district would protect students from a “hostile administration”—and no enforcement action ever followed. Five Virginia school districts rejected identical demands and sued the Department of Education, risking over $160 million in funding. Chicago Public Schools blew past a federal deadline and refused demands, and New York City Public Schools sued after $47 million in magnet school funding was pulled. While elite institutions including Brown, Columbia, Harvard, and Penn have capitulated, public school systems remain one of the last and strongest bastions of resistance.
Jeffco’s deadline to comply with the Department of Education’s demands is March 23. Based on the district’s statement, it has no intention of doing so. When Denver Public Schools defied the same administration last September, the Department of Education never followed through on its threats. Whether the administration will escalate against Jeffco remains to be seen, but the legal landscape could shift dramatically this summer when the Supreme Court issues its ruling in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, two cases challenging state bans on transgender athletes that could redefine equal protection for transgender people entirely.
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