A Colorado school district has sued the Trump administration after being warned it could lose more than $50 million in federal funding unless it abandoned policies protecting transgender pupils.
Jefferson County Public Schools, known as Jeffco, filed the case in the US District Court for Colorado on 28 July, arguing that the Department of Education’s interpretation of Title IX conflicts with state law and was introduced without the required rule-making process.
The district, which serves about 75,000 pupils, said the money at risk supports school meals, special education and other services. Its interim superintendent, Rob Stein, said Jeffco faced an “impossible position” because complying with the federal demands would mean violating Colorado’s anti-discrimination law. ([storage.courtlistener.com](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cod.257238/gov.uscourts.cod.257238.1.0_1.pdf))
The dispute centres on rules allowing pupils to use toilets, changing rooms and overnight accommodation consistent with their gender identity, as well as policies governing participation in school sport.
The administration’s Office for Civil Rights said in March that Jeffco had breached Title IX by allowing pupils assigned male at birth to access girls’ facilities and compete in girls’ teams. It cited district records which, it said, showed 61 boys had occupied places on girls’ sports rosters.
Jeffco disputes that interpretation. District officials said the records included team managers, mascots and other support roles rather than athletes, and that there were no transgender girls competing on girls’ teams. They also suggested that the government may have misunderstood a cross-country roster covering separate boys’ and girls’ programmes.
The Education Department has repeated that its investigators found male participants had “at least 61 roster spots on girls’ sports teams”. A spokeswoman said the department referred the case to the Justice Department because Jeffco had taken no steps to protect women and girls.
The federal demands facing Jeffco Public Schools
According to the district’s complaint, federal officials demanded that Jeffco publicly adopt definitions of “sex”, “male” and “female” based solely on biological characteristics. The proposed agreement would also have required the district to state that transgender girls could not compete in girls’ athletics and that toilets, changing rooms and overnight accommodation must be allocated according to sex assigned at birth, regardless of Colorado law. ([storage.courtlistener.com](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cod.257238/gov.uscourts.cod.257238.1.0_1.pdf))
Jeffco said those requirements could not be reconciled with the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which protects people from discrimination on grounds including sexual orientation and gender identity. Regulations made under the law require covered organisations to allow people to use gender-segregated facilities consistent with their gender identity.
The lawsuit argues that the administration changed its approach to Title IX without notice and consultation, and that it is attempting to impose funding conditions that Congress did not authorise. The district is asking the court to set aside the federal findings and clarify which legal obligations it must follow.
The complaint also says the government relied on the 61 roster places without first discussing its interpretation of the data with district officials. Jeffco said investigators did not interview staff or pupils or visit schools during the inquiry before issuing their findings.
The Department of Education has yet to file its formal response. Linda McMahon, the education secretary, was served with the lawsuit on 13 August.
The case has placed Jeffco at the centre of a widening national conflict over transgender rights in schools. Since 2025, the Trump administration has opened more than five dozen investigations into schools and universities over alleged Title IX violations involving female pupils.
Other districts have settled with the administration or changed their policies. Jeffco’s board, however, authorised legal action after attempts to resolve the dispute through discussions and mediation failed.
Stein said the lawsuit was not intended to alter the district’s commitment to its pupils, but to protect funding while seeking a ruling on the clash between federal directives and Colorado law.
“Every student belongs in Jeffco,” he said in a statement. “Our schools will continue to provide safe, welcoming learning environments where every student is treated with dignity and respect.”
The district is being represented by the law firm of Jack Smith, the former special counsel who led criminal investigations into Donald Trump. The firm is also representing school districts in Kansas, Maryland and Virginia facing similar federal scrutiny.
The legal challenge comes as Jeffco grapples with serious budget pressures and has already made difficult reductions in spending. District officials say losing federal support would affect pupils across the system, not only those directly involved in the dispute.
