The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) determined on Thursday that Denver Public Schools violated federal Title IX protections by creating all-gender restrooms and allowing students to use facilities matching their gender identity.
Newsweek reached out to DPS for comment via email on Thursday.
Why It Matters
Thursday’s finding is the latest salvo in the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to roll back LGBTQ+ rights in public schools and universities across the country.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January saying that the federal government will only recognize two sexes: male and female.
The president, Education Secretary Linda McMahon and other administration officials have also repeatedly claimed that transgender women threaten the safety of cisgender women and that allowing trans women to compete in women’s sports is unfair.
There is no evidence that transgender women pose an increased threat to safety in bathrooms. Transgender people are also several times more likely to be the victims of violent crimes than those who are not transgender.
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What To Know
Thursday’s finding from the Education Department came after an investigation into Denver’s East High School and marks a sharp departure from the DOE’s approach under former President Joe Biden.
The DOE began investigating Denver Public Schools after the high school converted a girls’ restroom on its second floor to an all-gender restroom and left another restroom exclusive to boys. Scott Pribble, a spokesperson for DPS, previously said that East High School also has restrooms for male and female students.
“Let me be clear: it is a new day in America, and under President Trump, (the Office for Civil Rights) will not tolerate discrimination of any kind,” Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a press release at the time.
After issuing its conclusion on Thursday, the DOE gave Denver Public Schools the opportunity to revert the all-gender restrooms back to ones separated by gender or risk further enforcement actions.
Brett Sokolow, the president of the Association of Title IX Administrators, told The Associated Press that legal questions about the restroom are untested.
The Trump administration is “arguing that an all-gender restroom isn’t comparable to a single-gender restroom,” Sokolow said. “You’d have to establish that somehow you have a right to a single-sex bathroom, and while the Trump administration may believe that, I don’t know if that will be upheld by the courts.”
What People Are Saying
Trainor said in a statement Thursday: “Denver Public Schools violated Title IX and its implementing regulations by converting a sex-segregated restroom designated for girls in East High School to an ‘all-gender’ facility and by allowing students to use the high school’s intimate facilities on the basis of their ‘gender identity’ rather than their biological sex. As a result, the District is creating a hostile environment for its students by endangering their safety, privacy, and dignity while denying them access to equal educational activities and opportunities.”
Scott Pribble, a spokesperson for DPS, said in a statement after the initial investigation was announced: “This restroom serves all students, including those who may feel uncomfortable in gender-specific facilities and aligns with our values of supporting every student.”
What Happens Next
The DOE gave Denver’s public school district ten days to voluntarily comply with its demand to revert all-gender restrooms to gender-specific restrooms or risk “imminent enforcement action.”
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
Update 8/28/25, 9:35 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and context.
