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A Colorado Springs-area school district sued the state Friday, arguing that Colorado’s anti-discrimination law violates students’ constitutional rights by allowing transgender youth to play on school sports teams that match their gender identity.
The lawsuit, which also targets the Colorado High School Activities Association, is the latest volley in a battle over transgender student athletes in the conservative-leaning District 49. It could have implications for school sports across Colorado, putting what has generally been handled on a case-by-case basis up to a high-profile legal test.
Thursday, the day before the lawsuit was filed, the District 49 school board narrowly passed a controversial policy banning transgender middle and high school students from joining school teams that align with their gender identity. The policy, which applies to both transgender boys and transgender girls, was developed after President Trump’s February executive order that threatened to withhold federal funding from any school that allows athletes assigned male at birth to participate in girls’ or women’s sports.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court on behalf of the district by a Colorado Springs law firm called First and Fourteenth. It names as defendants Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, the Colorado Civil Rights Division, and the Colorado High School Activities Association, which oversees high school sports in the state.
The lawsuit argues that Colorado’s anti-discrimination law, which includes protections for people based on gender identity, along with the activity association’s bylaws, put District 49 “in an untenable position.”
“Compliance with these state requirements would force the District to violate students’ constitutional rights and risk federal funding loss, while adherence to federal obligations exposes the District to state penalties including fines and athletic-program suspension,” the lawsuit says.
Noting that the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment bans discrimination based on sex, the lawsuit argues that allowing transgender girls to join girls teams deprives girls of athletic opportunities in violation of the amendment.
Transgender girls are those who were assigned male at birth, but identify as female.
The lawsuit also argues that girls’ and boys’ privacy rights under the Equal Protection clause would be violated if they had to share locker rooms with transgender athletes.
District 49 officials have presented little evidence that transgender athletes have posed a problem in the district.
School Board President Lori Thompson said in an interview last week that she knew of one instance of a transgender student in district sports. It was a transgender boy who sought to join a boys team. He was allowed to try out, but didn’t make the cut.
At a recent school board meeting, Peter Hilts, the district’s superintendent, told of a district high schooler who during a group discussion recounted how her varsity girls soccer team had played against a team from another district that included a “whole male.” That player scored twice on penalty kicks and the District 49 team lost. It’s not clear from the anecdote if the player who scored was, in fact, transgender.
Hilts mentioned he hadn’t encountered a similar situation during his 12 years working in the district.
For years, the Colorado High School Activities Association has recognized in its bylaws the right of transgender athletes to participate on sports teams that match their gender identity. But association officials seemed to downplay that recognition after more than 60 Colorado school and district officials, including Thompson, Hilts and two others from District 49, sent the group a letter in April demanding it adopt rules “to ensure that boys are not permitted to compete as girls in girls’ sports.”
Subsequently, the activities association took a more noncommittal stance. At a recent event, the group’s lawyer described its position as “neutral” and said that determining eligibility for sports teams is a matter of local control.
The lawsuit seeks a ruling that prohibits the state or the activities association from requiring schools allow transgender athletes to join sports teams or use locker rooms that match their gender identities. It also seeks legal fees.
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
