Colorado parents sue school district over transgender student room policy

Several Colorado parents are suing local school districts following an overnight field trip that allegedly attempted to place a transgender-identifying male student in a hotel room (and ultimately in the same bed) with an 11-year-old girl.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative legal organization that defends religious freedom, filed its opening statement Wednesday, titled “Wailes v. Jefferson County Public Schools,” on behalf of four families to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.

The lawsuit alleges that the district, located near Denver, allowed biologically male students to share overnight housing with girls based solely on gender identity without notifying their parents or asking for their consent.

According to the complaint, the district’s policies violate parents’ fundamental right to make decisions regarding their children’s upbringing and education and place students in uncomfortable or potentially unsafe situations.

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In the summer of 2023, Joe and Serena Wailes’ daughter had just finished fifth grade and was reportedly going on a field trip with her classmates to Philadelphia and Washington DC.

According to the lawsuit, Wailes said their daughter was assigned to a two-bed hotel room with three other students; two girls from his school and one from another school in the area.

Allegedly, while the children were getting ready for bed on the first night, the girl learned that her bedmate was biologically male and identified herself as a trans woman. The girl reportedly went to the bathroom to call her mother, who was nearby and acting as a chaperone.

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Joe and Serena Wailes are among several parents who are suing Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado. (Alliance Defending Freedom)

The lawsuit stated that the room allocation was made despite assurances from district officials that boys and girls would be placed on different hotel floors.

However, Jefferson County Public Schools’ policy states that students may be given overnight accommodations based on their gender identity.

The lawsuit also alleges that the district does not allow families to opt out or request that their children room only with students of the same biological sex.

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Parents allege daughter’s improper room assignment during school trip to Washington DC (Yasin Öztürk/Anadolu Agency)

“The district’s policy of placing students by gender identity rather than gender without prior notice or a sex-segregated alternative violates families’ free exercise, bodily privacy, and parental rights,” ADF said in a press release Thursday. he said.

The lawsuit also cites several other examples where children were placed in similar situations. In another example, the parents of an 11-year-old boy attending a school-run camp said they were told his counselor would be male, only to later learn that the counselor was a female adult who biologically identified as nonbinary and was assigned to supervise the boys in their cubicles and showers.

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“Parents, not government bureaucrats, have the right and responsibility to direct their children’s upbringing and education, and this includes making informed decisions to protect their children’s privacy,” ADF Senior Counsel Kate Anderson, director of the ADF Center for Parental Rights, said in a statement. he said.

“This fundamental right is especially vital for all parents who wish to raise their children in accordance with their religious values ​​and protect their bodily privacy. Jefferson County Public Schools claims to ‘provide free accommodation for all,’ but will not provide equal accommodations for religious students to access educational opportunities without compromising their bodily privacy.”

Jefferson County Public Schools did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.