The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that Denver Public Schools broke Title IX, the federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in education, by designating all-gender bathrooms and allowing students to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity rather than their biological sex.

The Office for Civil Rights in the Education Department began an investigation into the school district in January after East High School converted a girls’ bathroom into an all-gender restroom. Department officials said the change did not align with federal requirements under Title IX.

The district’s decision came after East High School converted a girls’ bathroom into an all-gender facility, but the school did not do the same for a nearby boys’ bathroom on the same floor. Denver Public Schools said the decision was made in partnership with students and noted that the new multi-stall, all-gender bathrooms included 12-foot-tall partitions surrounding the toilets to ensure privacy and safety.

Federal officials, however, said the restroom changes violated Title IX. Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said the bathroom decision denied students equal access to facilities and created a “hostile environment.”

The district also opened a second all-gender bathroom on the same floor to create “parity between the floors,” but district officials noted that students also have access to other multi-stall restrooms designated for men or women, as well as single-stall all-gender restrooms throughout the school.

Education Department Issues Resolution Plan

The Department of Education issued a proposed resolution to Denver Public Schools with four conditions it would need to meet within 10 days or risk enforcement action.

In the proposed resolution, the Education Department said the district would need to:

Reverse all re-designations of all-gender, multi-stall restrooms as sex-specific restrooms.

Repeal and replace policies that allow students to use intimate facilities on the basis of their gender identity rather than their biological sex.

Replace its gender identity-based definitions of “male” and “female” with “biology-based” definitions for “male” and “female” and apply them in all its Title IX policies and practices.

Issue a memorandum to all district schools confirming that its intimate facilities policies and practices must protect student privacy, dignity, and safety, and must be comparably accessible to students of both sexes.

The department’s Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, who recently confirmed by the Senate, has not said whether the plan would be adopted as final. The Education Department, which has a month to issue its final resolution plan, has the authority to enforce compliance in various ways, including withholding federal funds.

Federal Officials Point to Student Safety, Privacy

In a statement, Trainor said the district’s decision to convert a sex-specific restroom into an all-gender facility “endangers student safety, privacy, and dignity.”

“The department’s findings show that Denver Public Schools violated Title IX and its implementing regulations by redesignating a sex-segregated restroom in East High School to be an ‘all-gender’ facility and by allowing students to use East High School’s intimate facilities on the basis of their gender identity rather than their biological sex,” Trainor said in a statement. “Denver is free to embrace a self-defeating gender ideology, but it is not free to accept federal taxpayer funds and thereby 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.”

The district has argued its decision was rooted in student voices, saying the move came after a student-led process to design and implement new restrooms that would meet student needs. The district also said privacy and security were its top concerns.

Denver Public Schools has not publicly commented on the latest findings from the department, but previously noted that students at the school have several bathroom options, including single-stall restrooms for those seeking more privacy.

Denver’s Gender Identity Debates Are Part of National Trend

The decision by Denver Public Schools to create all-gender restrooms is part of a national debate over gender identity and bathrooms and locker rooms in schools. In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender girls from competing on sports teams that are not aligned with their biological sex.

Republican lawmakers have also introduced legislation that would limit transgender students from using bathrooms and locker rooms or participating on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.

The Education Department has pursued a number of legal actions against schools and universities for their policies regarding gender identity and transgender students. This week, for example, officials announced George Mason University broke federal law with unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in violation of Title VI.

What’s Next

Denver Public Schools now must decide whether to agree with the federal government’s proposed resolution or risk enforcement action that could impact millions of dollars in federal funding.

The district has 10 days to respond to the department’s findings and either comply with the four conditions set by the department or try to negotiate an alternative resolution.