On March 13, 2026, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced it had concluded that Jeffco Public Schools, Colorado's second-largest district, violated Title IX by letting transgender students use bathrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations and compete on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. OCR had opened the investigation in June 2025 over the district's policy on overnight trips. The announcement cited athletic rosters as its evidence on sports. According to Chalkbeat, the release first said the rosters indicated “that male students occupy 61 roster positions on girls' sports teams”; the version now on the department's website says male students “may occupy up to 61 roster positions.”
In a June 11, 2026 letter to the community, the district said the count was wrong: “Some teams had male managers, trainers, or mascots — not athletes.” Jeffco said that “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,” and that OCR had declined to correct what the district called a factual error. The Education Department declined to comment to Chalkbeat.
The district said the federal government's current interpretation of Title IX “differs significantly from that of prior administrations” and directly contradicts the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which requires schools to accommodate students consistent with their gender identity. “This places school districts in an impossible position,” the letter said.
The Golden Transcript, which obtained OCR's 31-page Letter of Findings through an open-records request, reported that the 61 figure came from rosters recording “the gender provided by students and/or their families,” not any record of biological sex, and that OCR acknowledged that caveat in the letter and used the count anyway. The department's June 26 enforcement release dropped the roster count, the paper reported.
The administration made a roster count the public centerpiece of a Title IX finding without, according to the district, asking what role any listed student held.
Update (October 2, 2026): On June 26, the Education Department gave Jeffco 10 days to comply or face enforcement action, including possible referral to the Justice Department and termination of federal funding, according to the Golden Transcript. In late July the district sued the department, saying it needs a judge to tell it how to proceed without violating either state or federal law, CBS Colorado reported.
Correction (October 2, 2026): This entry said the Education Department asserted that 61 “boys” held roster spots on girls' teams and that the district called the administration's reading of Title IX the opposite of the Obama and Biden administrations'. The department's release used the phrase “male students” and now says they “may occupy up to 61” positions, and the district said the current interpretation “differs significantly from that of prior administrations.” The title, summary and key facts were corrected to match.