PRESS RELEASE: Defense of Freedom Institute, California Justice Center File Federal Civil Rights Complaint Against California Department of Education and Multiple School Districts for Title IX Violations

WASHINGTON—The Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies (DFI) and the California Justice Center (CJC) have jointly filed a federal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) against the California Department of Education (CDE), Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), and Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD). California law and CDE implementing regulations currently require school districts, including LAUSD, SFUSD, and CUSD, to allow students to use intimate facilities and participate in sex-segregated school programs consistent with their “gender identity,” irrespective of their sex.

The complaint alleges that these entities are violating Title IX by forcing students to share sleeping quarters and intimate facilities with individuals, including adults, of the opposite sex as a condition for participating in school programs and activities.

Citing a school trip for fifth graders to the Pali Institute outdoor education camp, the complaint states that CUSD plans to assign students to cabins and bathroom facilities based on “gender identity” rather than sex. CUSD policies also prohibit notifying parents about whether their child will share sleeping spaces with individuals of the opposite sex and do not allow families to opt out. CDE, LAUSD, and SFUSD also maintain rules and policies requiring K-12 students to share their sex-separated intimate spaces at school with individuals on the basis of their asserted “gender identity” rather than sex.

“Schools should not require a fifth-grade girl to sacrifice her dignity and privacy to accommodate the gender identity preference of another student as a condition of participating in a school activity. To do so would simply erase ‘sex’ from Title IX,” said DFI President and Co-Founder Bob Eitel. “The situation in Capistrano USD should not be considered in isolation. It illustrates how these laws and policies are playing out in California and other states across the country.”

CUSD, the largest school district in Orange County, sends students to the Pali Institute outdoor education camp, where cabin assignments and bathroom facilities are determined by “gender identity” rather than sex. Under this policy:

• Elementary school students must share sleeping and changing spaces with individuals based on “gender identity” instead of sex
• Parents are not informed if their child is housed with an individual of the opposite sex.
• Families are not given the option to opt out or request alternative accommodations.

“California’s schools are sending a clear message to parents: you don’t have the right to know if your child is sharing a sleeping space with an adult or another student of the opposite sex,” said Julie Hamill, President of the California Justice Center. “Our public schools have a duty to uphold Title IX and protect children’s safety and privacy. We are fighting to restore those protections.”

DFI and CJC request that OCR investigate these policies and practices and that the Department withhold federal funding if the district fails to implement immediate corrective action to comply with Title IX.

To read the full complaint, click here.

Many states and school districts across the country maintain laws and policies that conflict with Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs and activities that receive federal funds. Where such conflicts exist, DFI, an independent, nonprofit legal and public policy advocacy organization, will urge the Department to enforce Title IX to protect the rights of students, faculty, and staff.