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PODCAST: | “Freedom to Learn:” Concerned Parents and Students in New Richmond, Wisconsin Receive National Attention

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Cory Brewer on Girls’ Privacy, School Board Accountability, & The Future of Title IX Enforcement

When parents in a small Wisconsin town discovered that male students were allowed to use girls’ bathrooms at their local high school, they didn’t stay silent. Cory Brewer of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) joined Freedom to Learn to discuss what’s happening in New Richmond, and why this fight is about far more than one school district.

Our conversation covered:

• What Title IX actually requires — and what it doesn’t.
• How regulatory “ping pong” between administrations has created confusion for school boards.
• Why some districts falsely claim their “hands are tied” by federal law.
• How parents can respond when schools adopt unwritten policies that affect student privacy.
• The legal and policy reforms that are needed to restore clarity and protect girls’ spaces.

We also discussed the broader constitutional principles at stake and why more families across the country are speaking up.

Our Freedom to Learn conversation “aired” the morning of March 5. That afternoon, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced an investigation into the New Richmond School District to determine whether the District violated Title IX “by allowing students to access intimate facilities based on ‘gender identity,’ not biological sex.” The announcement mentioned specific concerns expressed by parents and students and referenced the model policy drafted by WILL, which Cory described during our conversation. OCR’s announcement stated:

“One student testified at a subsequent board meeting about her fear, embarrassment, and anxiety given the presence of boys in the girls’ restrooms, noting that she no longer uses the restrooms while in school. When a school board member introduced a policy in February 2026 to ensure bathroom and locker rooms are separated by biological sex, only two of the seven board members voted in favor of the proposal.”

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Highlights from our conversation have been edited for length and clarity.

You work for the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. What’s the organization’s mission?

Cory Brewer: We’re based in Milwaukee, but over the last few years, we’ve expanded to doing more national work, especially when it comes to education policy and federal litigation. Our mission is related to constitutional principles and the rule of law. We do a lot of work related to First Amendment free speech, freedom of religion, Title IX equal protection, and separation of powers. It keeps us busy.

Parents and students in the New Richmond, Wisconsin, school district are expressing concerns about the district allowing biological boys to use girls’ bathrooms. Often, community members are afraid to speak up for fear of being socially ostracized or worse. Tell us what’s going on in New Richmond, and what got the parents ready to speak up and be active this time.

Cory Brewer: The reaction that I’m seeing from parents and students is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. We know that these policies, whether they’re written policies adopted by the board or not, are unfortunately fairly common.

There’s been a movement where schools feel like they need to allow students who identify as transgender to use whatever bathroom matches their gender identity. But that’s actually not required under Title IX. The regulations explicitly say that schools are permitted to separate bathrooms and locker rooms by sex, as long as they’re comparable for boys and girls.

What we’re seeing in New Richmond is a small town where the girls, this is a high school, were uncomfortable with a boy using their bathroom. They raised that with the administration and were told, ” Our hands are tied, state and federal law requires this” — which is not true. They were told, “If they’re uncomfortable, you can use the single stall.” The boy gets to keep using the girls’ bathrooms, but the girls are told they can leave and use a separate bathroom. The parents were not okay with that. They don’t want their daughters to be uncomfortable, they’re concerned about their safety and privacy in a girl’s space, and that the girls are the ones being asked to leave.

This is pretty standard, though. I wonder if there’s some kind of best practices document or policies circulated by activists that say if students don’t want to use these dual-sex bathrooms, then they can go use the single stall or the nurse’s office. So the girls have to traipse around the building, or wait in line, or not access the bathroom at all because they’re so uncomfortable with what is happening.

Cory Brewer: We’ve heard all of those things. There are some girls who just don’t use the bathroom during the school day, which is obviously not good. I’ve heard about maps being posted in this school, so the girls know where to go if they don’t want to use the girls’ bathroom, which is totally backwards.

We also know the administration is telling the girls that if they’re late to class because they’re waiting in line for a single-stall bathroom, their tardy will be excused. But the girls shouldn’t have to be late to class; and this is really important under Title IX, this only impacts girls. They’re the ones missing class and having to go across the school to use another bathroom if they don’t want to share a bathroom with a boy, and that’s wrong.

Let’s go back to your description of this school district. This isn’t Oregon or California or New York. People might think this is just happening in coastal areas. This is Wisconsin. You indicated it’s a small community.

Cory Brewer: It is. It’s up north in Wisconsin. It’s not far from Minneapolis, but it’s a small community.

How did it get brought to your attention that this was going on?

Cory Brewer: We heard from more parents than have ever contacted us. They want to do something about this. They called for a special board meeting because they felt the administration and the board weren’t moving quickly enough.

At that meeting, numerous parents and students spoke out, saying, “We want girls to have separate spaces.” WILL actually drafted a model policy for how school districts can separate boys’ and girls’ bathrooms while respecting the dignity of all students. If there’s a transgender-{identified] student, there can be an accommodation, but that doesn’t mean girls lose their space.

We shared the model policy with parents and also shared amicus briefs on this subject so they could see the full picture of the law, since they weren’t getting it from the district’s administration or legal counsel. The model policy made it to the board, but unfortunately, they were not able to get a vote. The common-sense board members do not have a majority. Parents are still pushing for this to happen.

So the timeline was that the girls raised concerns and parents raised concerns and were rebuffed, they went to the school board, expressed concern and proposed a solution, and that solution has not been accepted. Had the district formally adopted a formal policy [to allow males in female spaces]?

Cory Brewer: No, the policy here was not adopted by the school board. That’s another issue the parents had. They had no idea this was happening. So, I tell parents, whatever the size of your school district, ask, because the policy is not always written down. When New Richmond parents raised concerns, they were told by the administration that this had been the policy for six or seven years. Parents had no clue.

It also took the girls a while to tell their parents because many schools are conditioning students to “be kind” and not complain or worry about it so much. Finally, the girls told their parents there was a boy in their bathroom and they didn’t like it.

Now that parents are involved and feel like they’re not being listened to, they’ve reached out to WILL, and they’ve formed a parent association called New Richmond Parents for Strong Schools, and they’re exploring legal options.

How did they know to reach out to WILL?

Cory Brewer: Referrals come in a number of ways. In this case, Moms for Liberty was very involved. Scarlett Johnson has been working with the parents and did a livestream of the packed school board meeting. Sometimes it’s word of mouth, sometimes people just Google and find us. I’m glad they did.

I am alarmed at how similar this situation is to others around the country. DFI and another organization recently filed a federal civil rights complaint on behalf of a Kansas family with a similar experience. I want to applaud the parents who take action because the Facebook mom groups can be really vicious and speaking up can lead to social ostracism. Why have districts been doing these things for years without communities knowing?

Cory Brewer: A lot of it is political. There’s also a circuit split where different courts in different parts of the country have decisions on this issue that are totally opposite. The Eleventh Circuit courts say of course separating bathrooms by sex does not violate Title IX. In the Seventh Circuit, where I’m located, we have court decisions suggesting it might. The Seventh Circuit has shown a willingness to reconsider.

Eventually, this is going to need to go to the United States Supreme Court to get clarity and uniformity across the country. Whether that is a lawsuit or we see the administration do something through Title IX regulations, something needs to happen.

Let’s explore the model policies you’ve offered. What goes into creating a model policy, and why are they important?

Cory Brewer: WILL has a bank of model school board policies available at schoolboardpolicies.org. This policy is two pages long and sets forth a legally sound way for school districts in any state to separate bathrooms by sex while accommodating requests from transgender[-identified] students that respects the dignity and safety and privacy or those students without taking away girls’ spaces.

At the end, there’s a half-page legal analysis because school board members often face pushback from administrators or legal counsel. We wanted to provide a resource they can bring forward and say, “”Let’s discuss this. We think this is a common sense thing to do to protect girls’ privacy in school.”

School board members are often told they’ll lose insurance or face lawsuits if they adopt a policy like this. Having organizations like yours offering legally grounded alternatives is so important.

Cory Brewer: That’s exactly right. Boards are often told they might not be insured, or get sued and lose, or taxpayers will have to pay for litigation. These things are just intimidation tactics. Good legal counsel should fully explain the law, but respect and understand that those school board members are the locally elected representatives and it’s ultimately their decision. We’re seeing too many school district attorneys almost bullying school boards.

Sometimes, boards are simply told something is illegal without being shown the law. They should ask for a legal memo and ask questions. WILL is able to provide resources to facilitate those types of conversations.

Parents might want to look into how much districts are paying those law firms. In some places, it’s millions of dollars. That whole dynamic really needs a close examination and potential overhaul.

Going back to New Richmond, the parents formed a group and may take further action. The board might be exposing itself to legal risk by refusing to act.

Cory Brewer: For some reason, they’re only looking at the risk on one side. At the school board meeting, parents asked how long their daughters would have to share a restroom with a boy. They don’t want to wait. They want to protect their daughters’ privacy and safety.

The parents formed an unincorporated association. Our organizations file complaints with the Office for Civil Rights, and we know that the Trump administration has an executive order stating that under Title IX, the administration is going to interpret male to mean male and female to mean female, period. Gender identity does not factor into that definition. So it is a tool that these parents have should they want to pursue that option.

If the school board isn’t going to do something, a little pressure may ensure that this school is complying with Title IX and protecting girls’ rights. Also, there are some parents running for school board elections that don’t like this policy.

What is your advice to concerned parents in other districts?

Cory Brewer: Parents should look into what their school’s policy is regarding bathroom use and whether it protects girls-only spaces. Ask whether the policy is written or unwritten, and try to understand what’s happening so you don’t find out years later, like the parents in New Richmond. Try to be proactive about it.

If you’re a school board member or candidate, get out in front of this. Do your research. There is risk on both sides of the issue.

This has become an important legal issue, and we want to protect all kids while supporting girls’ safety in schools.

Part of that process is making sure Title IX regulations are clear. We’ve had regulatory ping-pong between administrations. Where are we now, and what needs to happen next?

Cory Brewer: It’s important for everyone to understand that the Biden Title IX regulations were held unlawful nationwide. The Biden administration lost every time and eventually they lost on a nationwide basis. So the effect is as if those regulations were never in effect. We are now back to the effective regulations being the ones from the Trump administration in 2020.

But if someone looks at the Code of Federal Regulations online, they’ll still see gender identity in the Title IX regulations without understanding that those are not enforceable at all. That’s confusing for school board members and administrators.

I would like to see the Trump administration promulgate new regulations clearly defining what sex means and clarifying facilities use. Even better would be Congress passing a law to prevent this regulatory ping-pong.

DFI agrees and has proposed the RESPECT Title IX Act and model regulatory language. The administration should begin that process because it takes time.

Cory Brewer: It is not a fast process. We would love to see some more movement on that because the reality is we’re hearing from board members and parents and they’re confused. They look this up, and it still says gender identity online. It’s confusing.

The executive order was a great step in the right direction. The actions of OCR and how they’re enforcing Title IX, a great step. Obviously, the legal win, which found that the Biden regulations were unlawful and unenforceable — all good things. But now we need to do that next step, which is fixing the regulations.

As we wrap up, I often ask guests to address a myth that bothers them most.

Cory Brewer: I want parents to know they have a right to speak up and advocate for their children. Parents are being intimidated into silence, told they don’t have a voice, they don’t matter, and sometimes law enforcement shows up to their doors to serve cease-and-desist letters.

This is a First Amendment issue, but it is related to Title IX. Parents have the free speech right to criticize district policies and advocate for their kids. And if they get push back, they can reach out to organizations like ours and we’ll fight for their rights.

Remind us of the website with the tools you mentioned.

Cory Brewer: schoolboardpolicies.org.

And how can people follow your work?

Cory Brewer: The organization’s website is will-law.org. I’m on Twitter @CoryJBrewer, and WILL is @WILawLiberty.

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