Colorado parents sue for right to choose same-sex rooms for kids on school trips

Colorado parents whose daughter went on a Jefferson County Public Schools trip and was assigned to share a bed with a transgender girl filed a federal lawsuit this week over the situation.

Under Jeffco Public Schools’ policy, trip supervisors assign students to overnight accommodations with other students based on gender identity rather than the sex assigned at birth. It’s part of the district’s effort to reduce the “stigmatization” of transgender students and ensure equal opportunities for all students while also protecting privacy.

The lawsuit filed this week by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal advocacy group, argues that parents must be notified in advance and allowed to make sure their children are assigned to rooms with students of the same sex.

Joe and Serena Wailes allowed their 11-year-old daughter to go on a school trip to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., in June 2023 after they were told their daughter would be rooming with three other fifth-grade girls. On the first night, their daughter learned she had been assigned to share a bed with a transgender girl.

The Wailes parents sent letters to administrators asking them to let parents opt out of any policy that assigns children to rooms based on gender identity rather than birth sex.

But the lawsuit says Jeffco officials repeatedly denied their request.

“Jeffco doubled down on their policy and made it clear that they will continue to ignore concerns from parents and hide information from parents about who their children will share rooms with on overnight school-sponsored trips,” ADF attorney Mallory Sleight said Thursday in an emailed response to questions.

“We are asking Jeffco to let parents be the ones to make decisions on their children’s privacy while protecting the privacy of all children.”

Jeffco Schools officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Faced with legal demand letters last year, officials said they would not “knowingly” assign students of different birth sexes to the same bed. The policy continues to allow shared rooms: “Students who are transgender should be assigned to share overnight accommodations with other students that share the student’s gender identity consistently asserted at school.”

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court on behalf of parents of three children contends parents have a fundamental right to make decisions about the upbringing and education of their children, a right that includes protection against “violations of bodily privacy which result when they must expose their bodies to the opposite sex in intimate settings, like overnight accommodations or shower facilities.”

Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.