Three Michigan school districts are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for possible Title IX violations involving gender-identity controversies.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced it opened new investigations into Ann Arbor Public Schools, Monroe Public Schools and the Chippewa Valley School District.
Investigators will determine whether the districts violated Title IX by allowing athletes to participate on boys’ and girls’ athletic teams and use locker rooms based on their self-professed “gender identities,” according to the news release.
Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
The federal education department alleges that Ann Arbor Public Schools maintains policies allowing males to compete on women’s sports teams.
“A complaint sent to OCR reports that a male not only competed on the girls’ volleyball team at an Ann Arbor school, putting the safety of other students at risk, but he also allegedly used the female-only locker rooms to undress,” the department’s release says.
Monroe Public Schools is accused of discriminating against female students by requiring the girls’ volleyball team to compete against a team with a biological male and forcing female athletes to share locker rooms with the male athletes, according to the statement.
Parents told federal investigators that Monroe Public Schools failed to respond appropriately to their concerns about legal violations and the risk of their children being put in inappropriate, unsafe situations.
In December, the father of a female high school athlete in Monroe schools filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education alleging Monroe and Ann Arbor violated Title IX rules and failed to protect female students who competed twice against a volleyball team with an alleged transgender athlete on its roster.
Sean Lechner, whose daughter plays volleyball at Monroe High School, filed the complaint on Dec. 5 alleging Ann Arbor Public Schools, Monroe Public Schools and Monroe’s athletic director Chet Hesson failed to follow safety protocols, withheld information and disregarded student privacy by allowing a male on Skyline High School’s varsity volleyball team to compete against females and use the same locker room.
On Sept. 9, Ann Arbor’s Skyline High School beat Monroe High School in Monroe. Lechner alleges in the complaint that both schools failed to ensure fair competition, provide a safe environment and equal opportunity to play in sex-separated athletic games.
Ann Arbor Public Schools officials have never confirmed or acknowledged they have a trans athlete on the Skyline team, saying they cannot disclose personal student information.
The Chippewa Valley School District allegedly permitted a female student athlete to use the male-only locker room.
All three districts were not immediately available for comment on Thursday.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in the release that the Trump administration is fully investigating the allegations and “what is right.”
“The convoluted practice of allowing students to participate on sex-segregated athletic teams and make use of locker rooms based on ‘gender identity’ is not only known to be unsafe for students, but is a direct violation of federal law,” Richey said in the news release.
jchambers@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Feds probe 3 Michigan school districts over Title IX controversies
Reporting by Jennifer Chambers, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Jennifer Chambers, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
