Jeffco Public Schools is gearing up for a court battle should the Trump administration follow through with threats to pull tens of millions of dollars in federal funding over the district’s policies supporting transgender students.
As of Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Department of Education hadn’t notified Jeffco Public Schools that the agency planned to take action. But district officials say they expect such a notice to arrive any day, prompting the Board of Education on Wednesday evening to give Jeffco Public Schools’ lawyers the go-ahead to go to court.
“We’re going to vigorously defend Jeffco’s right to funding,” said Tim Heaphy, an attorney representing the district. “…This is a value issue for them. They want to protect all students, ensure they are creating a school environment that’s supportive to all students.”
The district plans to ask a judge to intervene if the federal government moves to pull Jeffco’s funding, he said.
Tensions between Jeffco Public Schools and the Education Department escalated earlier this month when the agency threatened for a second time to take away the district’s funding because of policies the Trump administration says discriminate against girls by allowing transgender students to compete in female sports and use girls’ bathrooms.
The department’s Office of Civil Rights accuses Jeffco Public Schools of violating Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 — an allegation the district has denied. The landmark law was created to ensure women and girls can participate in school activities without harassment, and attorneys specializing in Title IX have said the Trump administration is misusing the law by targeting districts for pro-transgender policies.
The Education Department launched its investigation into the district last year after a family sued Jeffco Public Schools in 2024, alleging their daughter had to share a bed with a transgender girl during an overnight trip.
The federal agency in March formally accused Jeffco Public Schools of discriminating against girls in violation of Title IX. But district officials have said the department’s findings are based on an “erroneous claim” that more than 60 male students were competing on girls’ sports teams. District leaders said any boys listed on rosters for girls teams are managers, trainers or mascots — not athletes.
Jeffco Public Schools has now twice surpassed the Education Department’s 10-day deadlines to agree to reverse the district’s policies that protect transgender students in schools.
Earlier this month, the district — which says it has tried negotiating with the federal government — argued that the two parties are still within the 90-day period the Office of Civil Rights typically allows for such discussions before taking action.
But that 90-day period ends Wednesday, which is why district leaders are preparing for potentially imminent legal action.
Jeffco Public Schools hired Heaphy, an attorney based in Washington, D.C., to represent the district in litigation against the federal government. Heaphy is already representing school districts in Fairfax and Alexandria, Virginia, that are locked in a similar legal battle with the Education Department.
The federal agency placed the Virginia districts on what it calls “high-risk” status after they refused to change their policies for transgender students, which means the school systems have to cover expenses for federally funded programs themselves and then ask the government for reimbursement rather than receive federal funding upfront.
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If Jeffco Public Schools — the state’s second-largest district — were to lose federal funding, the impact would be felt in programs such as special education and school lunches. Jeffco, which has a nearly $1 billion budget, expects to spend $52 million in federal funding during the 2025-26 academic year.
The district is already struggling financially. Even with federal funding in place, Jeffco Public Schools will use $13 million from its reserves to balance the district’s budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year. Jeffco also recently trimmed $45 million from the district’s budget, including laying off 50 employees and slashing 89 unfilled positions.
As of Thursday, it was unclear whether the Education Department would move to implement any type of enforcement against Jeffco Public Schools, much less what that enforcement would look like.
“If (the agency) does, we’re ready to go,” Heaphy said.
A spokesperson with the Education Department did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
It’s also unclear whether the Education Department or the U.S. Department of Justice would take enforcement action against the district. The Education Department announced last week that its Office of Civil Rights will move to the Justice Department.
District officials argue that Jeffco’s policies are in compliance with the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which they say is in conflict with the federal government’s current interpretation of Title IX.
Lawrence Pacheco, a spokesman for Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office, said he could not confirm nor comment on any possible state-level litigation related to the Trump administration’s Jeffco investigation.
The Office of Civil Rights has launched investigations into two other Colorado K-12 districts since Donald Trump returned to office last year.
The agency last year accused Denver Public Schools of discriminating against girls by creating gender-neutral bathrooms at East High School. DPS defied the deadline to convert the restrooms back to single-sex facilities and, district officials have said, never heard back from the federal government.
The Education Department also announced earlier this month that it is investigating Cherry Creek Schools for what it calls “a wide range of racially discriminatory programming.”
Cherry Creek officials said they have not responded to the Office of Civil Rights’ letter nor changed any curriculum or other programming as a result of the announced investigation.
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