Parents Sue Colorado School District Over Rooming Policies
In Colorado, several parents have taken legal action against a local school district. Their lawsuit stems from an incident involving an 11-year-old girl who was reportedly assigned to share a hotel room with a male student identifying as transgender during an overnight school trip.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative legal group advocating for religious freedoms, submitted initial briefs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. They represent four families in the case of Wales v. Jefferson County Public Schools.
According to the lawsuit, the school district, situated near Denver, permits biologically male students to share rooms with girls solely based on gender identity. This policy is applied without parental notification or consent.
The families argue that such practices infringe upon their fundamental rights to make decisions regarding their children’s education and well-being, claiming that it places students in distressing and possibly unsafe circumstances.
In the summer of 2023, following fifth grade, Joe and Selina Wales’ daughter was on a school trip to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The lawsuit alleges she was assigned to a hotel room for four with two other girls from her school and one from a different school.
On the first night, while getting ready for bed, the girl learned that she was to share a bed with a biological male who identified as a transgender woman. Disturbed, she reportedly left to call her mother, who was nearby on the trip.
The complaint highlights that the room arrangements contradicted earlier assurances from school authorities that boys and girls would be assigned to separate floors in the hotel. Yet, the district’s policy allows for overnight assignments based on gender identity.
The suit also points out that families are not given the option to opt out or insist their children room only with others of the same biological sex.
A spokesperson for ADF remarked, “The district’s policy of assigning rooms based on gender identity instead of biological sex, without prior notification or alternatives, violates family rights, physical privacy, and parental autonomy.”
The lawsuit references other examples of similar occurrences. In one case, the family of an 11-year-old boy said they were misinformed about their camp counselor’s identity, discovering later that it was a biological female identifying as nonbinary who supervised boys during camp activities.
Kate Anderson, director of ADF’s Center for Parental Rights, emphasized the importance of parental rights in education, stating, “Parents, not government officials, should dictate their children’s upbringing. This includes ensuring their physical privacy and making informed choices.” She expressed concern that Jefferson County Public Schools promises inclusivity without considering religious needs, compromising students’ dignity.
As of now, Jefferson County Public Schools has yet to respond to requests for comment on this matter.
