The U.S. Department of Education (ED) found on Thursday that Denver Public Schools (DPS) violated Title IX by opening all-gender bathrooms and allowing students to use facilities based on their gender identity, rather than their biological sex.

The federal agency’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened an investigation on the issue in January following a district decision to convert a female restroom at East High School into an all-gender facility, which officials claimed was not in line with federal policy under Title IX.

Denver school district had introduced all-gender bathrooms in schools in 2021 with the goal of accommodating students, officials said. In particular, the district converted one restroom that had been designated for girls into an all-gender restroom. The district left one bathroom on the same hallway designated for male students. School district leaders said that the policy was part of a student-led initiative and added that the new all-gender bathrooms included 12-foot partitions surrounding the toilets to protect privacy and security.

OCR said in a statement that the district’s decision amounted to denying students equal access and created a “hostile environment,” which is a violation of Title IX.

DPS installed a second all-gender bathroom on the same hallway to accommodate both students. The district also said that students still had access to gender-specific restrooms as well as single-stall, all-gender restrooms in every building.

The department sent DPS a proposed resolution to the case, which requires the district to respond within 10 days. If the district agrees with the proposed resolution, it will need to implement the following four measures within 10 days to avoid enforcement.

The resolution proposal, which DPS would need to accept, includes the following conditions.

The district would need to redesignate all all-gender multi-stall restrooms into sex-segregated facilities.

The district would need to rescind its policy to allow students access to school bathrooms based on gender identity rather than biological sex.

DPS would need to adopt definitions of “male” and “female” that are “biology-based” in all policies related to Title IX.

DPS would also be required to issue a written memorandum to schools and clearly state that bathrooms at the district must meet its commitment to protect student privacy, dignity, and safety while also remaining “comparably accessible to both sexes.”

In a statement, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor called the district’s decision a “policy that flouts Title IX’s privacy, dignity, and safety protections, endangering students in plain view of everyone.”

“The department will not tolerate government officials undermining the privacy, safety, and dignity of students in this way,” Trainor said.

The issue in Denver comes amid a broader national debate about how schools should handle gender identity and bathroom use for transgender students. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would ban transgender girls from participating in sports that don’t align with their biological sex.

Congressional Republicans have also introduced legislation that would ban transgender students from using bathrooms or competing in sports teams that align with their gender identity.

ED has been active in handling cases related to schools and gender policies. This week alone, the agency said that George Mason University violated Title VI by discriminating against white and Asian students in unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.