A public-interest law firm is asking the U.S. Department of Education to investigate 15 school districts for alleged violations of Title IX relating to matters of gender identity.
The Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC), a law firm that defends constitutional rights, made the request to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). According to UMLC, the districts’ policies grant students access to restrooms and locker rooms based on gender identity while denying other students “the ability to feel safe and comfortable in the use of the sex-segregated common restrooms and locker rooms of their sex.”
UMLC argues that the districts are in violation of Title IX, federal law, and executive orders recently signed by President Donald Trump. The districts listed by UMLC include St. Paul Public Schools, Minneapolis Public School District, Rochester Public School District, Bloomington Public School District, and Duluth Public Schools.
“Schools must follow Title IX as written, not as reinterpreted to fit radical gender ideology,” said James Dickey, senior counsel at UMLC. “The Minnesota school districts we identified are putting the safety, privacy, and athletic opportunities of students—particularly young women—at risk. They are also trampling educators’ legitimate objections to being forced to use student pronouns.”
In a letter sent to OCR, UMLC also said that these school districts are in violation of Title IX by adopting policies which permit students to participate in sex-specific athletic programs based on their gender identity rather than biological sex. The UMLC argues that those policies put female students at a physical disadvantage.
According to UMLC, the policies in these districts are similar to those recently investigated by OCR in Virginia and Maine for potential Title IX violations.
“The federal government has already opened investigations into other school districts for similar violations. It’s time for Minnesota’s schools to be held accountable as well,” added Dickey.
The UMLC’s request comes after President Trump issued three executive orders earlier this year reinforcing Title IX’s protections based on biological sex. Those orders are designed to protect women’s rights and student safety in sex-segregated spaces and athletic programs.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) regarding its compliance with federal anti-discrimination law. UMLC argues that a similar investigation should be conducted regarding the 15 school districts.
In its letter, the UMLC listed specific school district policies that contributed to the alleged violations of law. Additionally, the law firm attached dozens of pages of documents from the various school districts which outline the policies at the center of this matter.
Hayley Feland
Hayley Feland previously worked as a journalist with The Minnesota Sun, The Wisconsin Daily Star, and The College Fix. She is a Minnesota native with a passion for politics and journalism.
