CO school district rooms children by gender identity, not by sex

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Kate Anderson, director of the ADF Center for Parental Rights, regarding a second letter ADF sent to Jefferson County Public Schools Thursday asking it 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. An opt-out can be accomplished in a number of confidential ways to protect the privacy of all students:

“Parents, not the government, have the right to direct the upbringing and education of their children, and that includes making informed decisions to protect their child’s privacy. As we explain in our second letter to Jefferson County Public Schools, the district has still failed to state whether parents, like our clients Joe and Serena Wailes, can opt their children out of any policy that rooms children by gender identity rather than sex. Such an opt-out can be accomplished in a number of confidential ways to protect the privacy of all students. The Waileses’ troubling experience is not isolated; we’ve spoken with other parents who’ve had similar incidents occur during the school district’s required sixth-grade Outdoor Lab trips. 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 inform parents of that policy and allow families to opt their children out as they deem best for their family.”

Last month, ADF attorneys sent a letter to the school district on behalf of Joe and Serena Wailes and their 11-year-old daughter after she was assigned to share a room, and supposed to share a bed, with a male student on an overnight school trip without their knowledge.

The JCPS policy states that students who identify as the opposite sex should be “assigned to share overnight accommodations with other students that share the student’s gender identity consistently asserted at school.” ADF attorneys note how this policy violates the Waileses’ religious beliefs, the parental rights of all parents in the district, and the privacy rights of all students.

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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