Parents in Colorado are taking legal action against their local school district after an 11-year-old girl was reportedly placed in a hotel room with a transgender-identifying male student during an overnight school trip, without parental consent. The lawsuit, filed by the conservative legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), asserts that the district’s policy, which allows biologically male students to room with female students based solely on gender identity, infringes on parents’ rights to make decisions regarding their children’s education and upbringing. The case, titled ‘Wailes v. Jefferson County Public Schools,’ highlights concerns over the lack of alternatives to sex-separated accommodations and the potential for violating students’ privacy and parental authority.
Jefferson County Public Schools’ policy, which permits students to be assigned overnight accommodations based on gender identity rather than biological sex, has become a focal point for the lawsuit. The complaint states that despite assurances from district officials that boys and girls would be placed on different hotel floors, the district’s policy allows for students to be roomed based on gender identity, without notifying families or seeking consent. This has led families to argue that their rights to make informed decisions about their children’s education and privacy are being undermined.
One of the key examples cited in the lawsuit involves the Wailes family, whose 11-year-old daughter was placed in a two-bed hotel room with three other students, including a biologically male student who identifies as a transgender female. According to the lawsuit, the daughter discovered her bedmate’s identity while preparing for bed on the first night of the trip and called her mother, who was serving as a chaperone nearby. The room assignment was said to have occurred despite the district’s stated policy of separating students by gender, raising questions about the implementation of the policy and its potential impact on students’ safety and privacy.
Additional examples from the lawsuit include another family of an 11-year-old boy who was reportedly assigned a female counselor at a school-run camp, despite the counselor being biologically female and identifying as non-binary. The family reportedly learned this information after the assignment was made, highlighting the district’s failure to provide transparency and alternatives for parents to opt out of such accommodations. These cases, according to the lawsuit, demonstrate a broader pattern of the district failing to respect parental rights and the importance of bodily privacy in educational settings.
In a press release, ADF emphasized that the district’s policy of rooming students based on gender identity rather than sex without prior notice or an alternative option violates the families’ free exercise, bodily privacy, and parental rights. The organization has called for the restoration of parental authority in educational decisions, arguing that parents, not government bureaucrats, should have the right to direct the upbringing and education of their children. The case continues to draw attention to the ongoing debate over transgender accommodations in public schools and the legal battles surrounding parental rights versus institutional policies concerning student privacy and safety.