Title IX and School Athletics

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has concluded that Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado violated Title IX by allowing male students to access female-only bathrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations and to compete on girls’ sports teams, according to findings released Friday. Investigators say district athletic rosters show male students may occupy up to 61 roster positions on girls’ teams and that these policies denied girls “safety, dignity and equal access” to educational programs and activities. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey accused the district of prioritizing “gender identity” over equal access for female students and said the Trump administration will not relent until female athletes’ protections are “fully restored,” language that underscores this administration’s broader shift in federal Title IX enforcement away from gender identity inclusion and back toward biological sex distinctions. OCR has issued a proposed resolution agreement giving the district 10 days to voluntarily come into compliance or face potential federal enforcement action, following an investigation that began in June 2025 over the removal of single-sex safeguards on overnight trips but widened to cover facilities use and athletics. The case will be watched closely by other districts and advocacy groups on both sides of the transgender sports and facilities debate, as it signals how far the administration is willing to go in using federal funding leverage to force changes in school gender policies.