District 49 votes to require students to use bathrooms aligning with biological sex

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Students at School District 49 (D49) will now be required to use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their biological sex, following a narrow approval of a controversial resolution during a board meeting Wednesday night.

During the meeting, the board voted 3–2 to approve Resolution JBAA, titled "Access to Sex-Segregated Facilities," which updates D49’s bathroom policy to require students and staff to use restrooms that align with their biological sex.

Notably, to comply with state law, the district also said it will provide single-stall bathrooms at all D49 schools for students in need of additional privacy.

The controversial resolution was first introduced earlier this year to comply with a Title IX executive order signed by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office for the second time.

The policy aligns with another resolution the district passed earlier this spring, which bars students from competing on sports teams that differ from their assigned gender at birth. Both resolutions define biological sex as male or female, treating it as distinct from gender identity.

Resolution JBAA has been met with significant community backlash since it was first introduced. While advocates have said the policy protects student safety while ensuring compliance with federal funding requirements, critics have argued it targets a small percentage of the student population and could put transgender students at risk.

At Wednesday's meeting, board members in support of the policy emphasized it was a safety and privacy issue above anything else.

"It is extremely important to make sure that we are protecting the rights of our girls, our boys, and all others," D49 Board Vice President Jamilynn D'Avola said. "And in order to do that, it's important that we have sex-segregated bathrooms so that our girls have private spaces in order to do their business or change without having someone who is biologically a man in their bathroom."

On the other hand, the board's treasurer, Mike Heil, and secretary, Marie La Vere-Wright, both voted against the resolution, arguing that the policy violates state law, poses legal risks and raises serious moral concerns.

"This policy is morally indefensible, as it knowingly and intentionally sends students to bathrooms and locker rooms with a target on their backs," Treasurer Mike Heil said.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Heil also criticized the board for fixating on transgender issues, noting that seven agenda items in the past six months had specifically targeted transgender students.

"This board has become singularly focused on about 1.5% of our student body," Heil said. "This board, if it is ever remembered at all, will be known as a single-issue board obsessed with what’s happening in our students’ underwear."

To read the full resolution, click here.

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