Three families represented by Alliance Defending Freedom have filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that the Jefferson County School District violated parents’ fundamental right to make decisions about the upbringing and education of their children.

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The lawsuit is based on the school district’s policy of assigning students to share overnight accommodations with other students who share the student’s gender identity rather than rooming by sex, according to a statement released today from Alliance Defending Freedom. 

When Joe and Serena Wailes allowed their 11-year-old daughter to attend a district-sponsored trip to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., they were told their daughter would be rooming with three other fifth-grade girls, the statement said. It wasn’t until their daughter was in her room getting ready for bed on the first night of the trip that she discovered she was to share a bed with a boy who identified as a girl.

“Parents, not the government, have the right and duty to direct the upbringing and education of their children, and that includes making informed decisions to protect their child’s privacy,” ADF Senior Counsel Kate Anderson, director of the ADF Center for Parental Rights, said. “This fundamental right is especially vital for parents to protect their children from violations of bodily privacy by exposure to the opposite sex in intimate settings, like sleeping arrangements or shower facilities. If Jefferson County Public Schools is going to continue placing students of the opposite sex in the same room on overnight trips — as it confirmed it would — the district must let parents be the ones to make decisions about their children’s privacy.”

Jeffco Public Schools did not immediately respond to The Denver Gazette’s request for comment on the case.

This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.