Faced with an ultimatum from the Department of Education threatening the loss of federal funding over its policies for transgender athletes, both the outgoing and interim superintendents of Jeffco Public Schools are asking Colorado officials for help.
In a back-and-forth that started more than a year ago, Jeffco Public Schools now has 10 calendar days to implement new policies based on the federal Office for Civil Rights' current interpretation of Title IX or see its federal dollars frozen, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Education on Friday.
“Jefferson County Public Schools has refused to correct its widespread and blatant Title IX violations, including policies as egregious as allowing children to share overnight accommodations with members of the opposite sex, despite repeated opportunities to come into compliance with the law,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey in the statement. “Today’s action makes clear that continued noncompliance will be met with accountability and consequences.”
In response, Tracy Dorland, JeffCo’s outgoing superintendent, and interim superintendent Robert Stein on Friday called on Gov. Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser and Colorado’s Department of Education Commissioner Susana Córdova to affirm that Jeffco’s policies are consistent with the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.
“Our immediate ask is for your voice in the form of public support for our district and its students and an affirmation that our accommodations for transgender students are consistent with Colorado law and values,” their letter reads.
Asking for help
The letter also asks the state to actively participate in its defense if the case does end up in courts. The district emphasized that Jeffco just wrapped up a $40 million budget reduction.
“As part of those cuts, staff lost jobs and families lost valued programming. We now face spending tens of thousands of our scarce dollars to protect our federal funding in what is, undoubtedly, a proxy fight in defense of Colorado law. We cannot do this alone,” the letter reads.
Federal money makes up about 8% of Jeffco schools' budget or roughly $98 million.
The superintendents said the OCR is challenging state law, not policies unique to Jeffco schools.
61 positions at odds
For its part, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and its investigation doesn’t see it that way. It issued its first warning letter to the district, the state’s second largest with more than 74,000 students and 145 schools, earlier this month. District athletic rosters showed that male students occupied 61 positions on girls’ sports teams, according to the OCR.
In a district letter that followed, Jeffco said that claim is false.
“The girls' sports rosters we provided to the OCR did not show that any athletes were male. Some teams had male managers, trainers, or mascots – not athletes,” the June statement said.
The latest back-and-forth comes two days after JeffCo school board members gave approval for any future legal actions, and said the move was a proactive step ahead of anticipated federal enforcement.
The Department of Education opened an investigation of Jeffco’s policies on transgender student athletes in June 2025, and in March 2026, found that the district had denied female students equal access to educational programs and activities and violated Title IX in doing so.
Federal demands vs. state law
The district argues that the federal government’s current interpretation of Title IX conflicts with state law and is not grounded in binding court rulings. Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act requires schools to accommodate students consistent with their gender identity.
Jeffco said is not allowed to ignore state law and points to Colorado Supreme Court precedent saying entities in Colorado cannot simply set aside state law because of a conflicting federal interpretation.
Federal officials warned the district it could face funding consequences if it does not comply, according to the latest OCR letter. Jeffco said questions about Colorado’s legal framework should be directed to the state, not the district.
The OCR is currently conducting dozens of similar Title IX investigations into school districts across the country.
- Jeffco Schools board gives district approval to file lawsuits as federal government investigates civil rights complaint
- Jeffco Schools says 61 boys the Trump administration found on girls’ sports rosters were mascots, managers
- US Department of Education threatens Jeffco schools with funding cuts over gender identity policies
- Jeffco schools violated Title IX by allowing transgender students access to sports team and bathrooms, says Department of Education
