Aug. 29, 2025
Statement on Office for Civil Rights Findings Regarding Title IX
Dear Team DPS,
The Trump Administration, through the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), continues to push its anti-trans agenda through the weaponization of Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. They have claimed Title IX prohibits the conversion of a girls’ restroom to an all-gender restroom. They now claim Title IX prohibits the use of any multi-stall, all-gender restroom. This has never been true; it remains untrue today.
While OCR’s letter of findings declares that DPS violated Title IX, they cite no binding authority that would make multi-stall all-gender restrooms unlawful.
Their letter of findings concedes that the District remedied their initial claim by converting another bathroom; now they have shifted their legal theory to claim that a hostile environment was created.
While they label this a “directed investigation,” make no mistake: there was no on-site review, not a single witness interview was ever conducted, and not one substantive conversation with any OCR attorney ever occurred. The District’s requests for conversation, clarification, mediation, and discussion of remedies all went unanswered. This is unprecedented behavior from an OCR we no longer recognize.
As you may have seen in the news, the Trump Administration, through their findings, is requesting a set of remedies that would include: eliminating sections of our LGBTQ+ toolkit, resegregating all-gender restrooms into single-sex designations, and publishing a memorandum to all schools that adopts the dangerous rhetoric and definitions of their administration.
At Denver Public Schools, we take pride in leading for Equity at every level of the organization. To our LGBTQ+ students, families, and supporters, we see you, and we will not stand for these attempts at your erasure.
We will protect all of our students from this hostile administration while we continue to raise the bar on achievement.
If you are with us, let us know. If you have questions or concerns, please talk to your school leader, your GSA/QSA, or our Office of Family and Community Engagement. We will continue to update our community as the process develops.
In collaboration,
Dr. Alex Marrero
Superintendent
Denver Public Schools
1860 Lincoln St.
Denver, CO 80203
