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When the federal schooling division introduced in March that Jeffco Public Schools had in its view run afoul of anti-discrimination regulation, it cited one key piece of proof: rosters indicating 61 boys were on women’ sports groups.
In a letter to the community this week, Colorado’s second largest college district mentioned no boys were competing on these groups — and supplied a proof.
“Some teams had male managers, trainers, or mascots — not athletes,” the letter mentioned.
“Because the [U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights] 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 U.S. Department of Education declined to remark for this story.
The federal Office for Civil Rights is supposed to make sure equal entry to schooling by implementing legal guidelines that prohibit discrimination. But beneath President Donald Trump, the workplace has used the federal Title IX regulation to focus on college district insurance policies that shield transgender college students.
Jeffco has been in a back-and-forth with the federal workplace for a 12 months.
Last June, the workplace launched an investigation into Jeffco’s policy on sleeping preparations for transgender college students on in a single day college journeys. The coverage says transgender college students ought to share rooms with friends who match their gender id. A household had sued the district after their 11-year-old daughter was assigned to share a mattress with a transgender scholar.
The federal workplace ultimately discovered that a number of of Jeffco’s insurance policies — together with these on in a single day lodging, lavatory use, and sports participation — violated Title IX.
At first, the workplace mentioned Jeffco athletic rosters indicated “that male students occupy 61 roster positions on girls’ sports teams.” A later version of the press launch posted on the federal schooling division’s web site walked again that language by including the phrases “may” and “up to.”
The division has not answered questions from Chalkbeat in regards to the change. Nor has it answered questions on the way it made the willpower in regards to the 61 boys.
Last week, the federal workplace issued a warning letter to Jeffco threatening to tug the 74,000-student district’s federal funding if it doesn’t change its insurance policies, saying the 2 sides are at an deadlock.
In a press release, Jeffco disagreed in regards to the deadlock, noting that the district remains to be inside the 90-day window that the workplace permits for good religion negotiations.
Jeffco has mentioned from the beginning that it’s following Colorado’s anti-discrimination regulation, which “directly contradicts” the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title IX, the district mentioned.
“This places school districts in an impossible position,” the district wrote in its letter to the group, which was posted to its web site Thursday. “We must navigate conflicting requirements with clear state law on one side and non-binding federal guidance on the other.”
Despite receiving an deadlock letter, Jeffco mentioned it has “not given up on dialogue” with federal officers to return to a decision.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at [email protected].
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