Wailes v. Jefferson County Public Schools

DENVER – On behalf of three Colorado families, Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Jefferson County Public Schools for violating parents’ fundamental right to make decisions about the upbringing and education of their children.

A JeffCo policy directs that students should be “assigned to share overnight accommodations with other students that share the student’s gender identity” rather than rooming by sex. JCPS tells parents that “girls will be roomed together on one floor, and boys will be roomed together on a different floor,” but what district officials fail to disclose is that they have redefined the words “girl” and “boy” to mean a student’s self-asserted “gender identity” rather than sex. JeffCo refuses to give parents truthful, pertinent information about their children’s overnight accommodations, thus hampering parents’ ability to make informed decisions about their children’s education and privacy.

“Parents, not the government, have the right and duty to direct the upbringing and education of their children, and that includes making informed decisions to protect their child’s privacy,” said ADF Senior Counsel Kate Anderson, director of the ADF Center for Parental Rights. “This fundamental right is especially vital for parents to protect their children from violations of bodily privacy by exposure to the opposite sex in intimate settings, like sleeping arrangements or shower facilities. If Jefferson County Public Schools is going to continue placing students of the opposite sex in the same room on overnight trips—as it confirmed it would—the district must let parents be the ones to make decisions about their children's privacy. And they must provide the information necessary and inform parents about the policy so parents can make the best decisions for their children. The district must grant our clients’ reasonable request for accommodations that can be accomplished in a number of confidential ways that protect the privacy of all students.”

When Joe and Serena Wailes allowed their 11-year-old daughter to attend a district-sponsored trip to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., they were told their daughter would be rooming with three other fifth-grade girls. It wasn’t until their daughter was in her room getting ready for bed on the first night of the trip that she discovered she was to share a bed with a boy who identified as a girl. Afterward, the Waileses sent two letters to JeffCo requesting reasonable accommodations—asking the school district to allow parents to opt their children out of any policy, prior to an overnight trip, that rooms children by gender identity rather than sex—but JeffCo repeatedly denied their request. The Waileses two younger children, twins, are currently scheduled to join the east coast trip in June 2025.

Bret and Susanne Roller sent their 11-year-old son on JeffCo’s annual sixth grade camping trip, called Outdoor Lab, and were told their son would be in a cabin with six to 30 other boys, including a male high school counselor. It wasn’t until their son was in the mountains—away from home for the first time and without any way to contact his parents—that he realized the school district had lied. His 18-year-old counselor was not male but was instead a “non-binary” female. The Rollers’ son soon found out that this counselor was not just sleeping and changing in the same cabin but was also tasked by JeffCo to supervise the boys’ showers, including his own.

After hearing of the Waileses and Rollers’ experiences, Rob and Jade Perlman became concerned about their own children. Their son is supposed to attend Outdoor Lab this year; their daughter excels at athletics and plays on multiple sports. The Perlmans are concerned about where and with whom their daughter will sleep while on JeffCo athletic trips. The Perlmans don’t want their children to miss out on academic and extracurricular activities, especially those that could help them secure college scholarships, simply because JeffCo cannot assure their children privacy on school-sponsored trips.

Undeterred, JeffCo has said it will continue to assign students to hotel rooms, cabins, and other overnight accommodations by gender identity as it has been. The school district also refused to provide an accommodation for students attending trips such as Outdoor Lab if they are uncomfortable or it violates their religious beliefs to stay in an intimate setting with a student of the opposite sex. And JeffCo has said that it will not agree to notify parents, or students, in advance that this is district policy, thereby preventing parents from making informed decisions for their children.

ADF attorneys explain in the lawsuit that, as a result, parents will not have the information they need to protect their child’s privacy until it is too late—when the parents are not there; when the burden falls on the child to ask her roommates about their sex; and when there is a greater risk of causing all students discomfort or embarrassment.

ADF attorneys filed the lawsuit, Wailes v. Jefferson County Public Schools, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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