DOE Finds DPS Violated Title IX Over East High Restrooms

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights determined Thursday that Denver Public Schools violated Title IX by converting sex‑segregated restrooms at East High School into multistall all‑gender facilities and by allowing students to use bathrooms that match their gender identity rather than their biological sex. The department gave the district 10 days to accept a proposed resolution that would reverse the bathroom designations and change district policies or face unspecified enforcement actions, potentially putting federal education funding at risk.

The finding follows an investigation opened in January after local reports said the district converted a girls restroom into an all‑gender facility while leaving another restroom on the same floor designated for boys only. The district said the change resulted from a student‑led process and that the restroom had 12‑foot partitions around stalls to preserve privacy. School officials later added a second all‑gender restroom on the floor, saying the move addressed fairness concerns and that gender‑specific restrooms and single‑stall all‑gender bathrooms would remain available.

Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights...