pushed back at the allegations that the district is discriminating against girls by supporting transgender students, saying on Wednesday that the federal agency’s finding is based on an “erroneous claim.”
The district’s statement came after the Education Department again threatened to pull its federal funding over policies the Trump administration says discriminate against girls by allowing transgender students to compete in female sports and use women’s bathrooms.
The warning marks the second time this year that the agency’s has accused the district of violating .
The department issued its initial warning in March, giving the district 10 days to agree to a resolution, which would have reversed any policies that permit transgender students to play sports or access facilities, including overnight accommodations.
“The departmentap interpretation has no basis in the Title IX regulations and is not supported by any binding court decision,” Jeffco Public Schools said in an unsigned statement Wednesday. “At least one federal court of appeals has held that (President Donald Trump’s) executive order does not have the force of law and that it did not amend Title IX. Prior federal administrations have taken the direct opposite view — that Title IX protects transgender students’ access to school programs and facilities.”
In their statement, Jeffco officials said they believe the Education Department’s renewed threat came in response to a letter the district sent Tuesday, informing agency officials that the Office of Civil Rights’ findings were based “on a fundamental misunderstanding of the data we provided in July of 2025.”
The federal government has said more than 60 male students are competing on girls’ sports teams in the district. The statement, which the Education Department cited in accusing Jeffco Public Schools of discrimination in March, is false, according to the district’s letter.
“To be clear, the data did not show any male student occupied a girls’ athletics competition role,” district officials said in their statement. “Jeffco also suggested that OCR direct its demands to the State of Colorado, since Jeffco lacks authority to deviate from or disregard the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.”
The Education Department said in a statement Wednesday that Jeffco Public Schools hasn’t taken any action — including changing its policies — since the March letter and, as such, the department sent the district a warning letter that says federal funding could be pulled if changes aren’t made within 10 days.
But Jeffco Public Schools said district officials do not believe the two sides are at an impasse because they are still within the 90-day period given for good faith negotiations.
The federal government has targeted K-12 districts with policies supporting transgender students since Donald Trump returned to office last year.
The Education Department also accused Denver Public Schools of discriminating against girls in violation of Title IX by creating gender-neutral bathrooms at East High School. DPS defied the agency’s deadline to convert restrooms back into single-sex facilities last year, but the district never heard back from the Education Department.
Attorneys specializing in Title IX have said that Trump is misusing the law — which was created to ensure girls and women can participate in school activities without sexual harassment — in targeting districts for pro-transgender policies.
The Education Department launched its investigation into Jeffco Public Schools last year after a family sued the district in 2024, alleging their daughter went on an overnight trip and had to share a bed with a transgender girl.
“Not only did the district trample on females’ sex-based protections by allowing males to compete in their sports, intrude in their bathrooms, and sleep in their overnight accommodations, but now it refuses to fix the problem after being given the chance,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement. “It is indifferent to the law and to the safety, privacy and dignity of women and girls. Its behavior here is unconscionable.”
