Jefferson Public Schools is firing back at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights after the agency claimed the two sides have reached an impasse in communication, alleging the Colorado school district allowed male students to compete on female sports teams.
This marks the latest development in the DOE’s investigation into the district, which centers on claims that the schools allowed male students to participate on female sports teams, use female bathrooms, and share overnight accommodations with female students based on their gender identity. The Civil Rights Office launched the investigation into the district last year, though school officials deny violating Title IX.
In an “impasse letter” sent in June, the DOE claimed it found male students listed on the school’s rosters for its female sports teams.
“A review of Jefferson County’s athletic rosters found the district allowed male students to occupy roster spots on girls’ sports teams, displacing girls from the athletic programs designed for female students,” the DOE’s letter stated.
JeffCo calls that assertion completely inaccurate, explaining that the males listed on those rosters were coaches, trainers, and mascots, not athletes. In a letter to the community released Thursday, the school district said:
“The OCR publicly stated that more than 60 male students are competing on Jeffco girls’ athletic teams. That is simply not true. The girls’ sports rosters we provided to the OCR did not show that any athletes were male. Some teams had male managers, trainers, or mascots – not athletes. Because the OCR never asked us to clarify the role of any individual listed on those rosters, we did not learn of this confusion until the OCR issued a press release. Since that moment, we have repeatedly and respectfully asked the OCR to address this factual error. They have declined to do so.”
The DOE’s impasse letter also reasserted its claims that the district allowed students of different genders to stay in the same accommodations overnight, stating, “The District also had policies that would have allowed students as young as 11 years old to share overnight accommodations on school trips with members of the opposite sex.”
Jeffco Schools argues that the government’s interpretation of Title IX has shifted and now conflicts with state law.
“The federal government’s current interpretation of Title IX differs significantly from that of prior administrations, and it directly contradicts the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), which requires schools to accommodate students consistent with their gender identity,” the school district’s community letter states. “This places school districts in an impossible position. We must navigate conflicting requirements with clear state law on one side and non-binding federal guidance on the other.”
The OCR says it provided the district with a resolution agreement and claimed school officials have “taken no action to protect women and girls,” leading to an impasse in communication between the two sides. The office is now threatening “impending enforcement” that could result in Jeffco Schools losing its federal education funding.
The school district, however, places the blame for the failed negotiations on the OCR, calling the impasse letter “surprising as it was disappointing.”
“We believed our recent conversations with the OCR were moving in a positive direction. We also remain well within the timeframe that the OCR’s own procedures provide for good-faith negotiations. The decision to step back from that process was the OCR’s, not ours,” the district said. “Throughout this process, Jeffco has engaged collaboratively, provided data, answered questions, and worked in good faith to address both factual and legal concerns. And yet, a central issue remains: the OCR’s conclusions appear to be based on a significant misunderstanding of information we have provided.”
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