The Trump administration’s education department on Tuesday said it is investigating reports that Denver Public Schools converted a girls’ restroom at its flagship high school campus into an “all-gender” facility, calling it “discrimination” against female students.    

“As a result, East High School now has an exclusive restroom for male students and no restroom for female students on its second floor,” the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said in a letter to Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero.

A spokesperson for Denver Public Schools defended the restroom as “(aligning) with our values of supporting every student.”

The decision, likely the first such action under Trump’s White House, signals a shift at the federal education department under the new president, who has promised to stamp out “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs across the country. 

Earlier today, the Trump administration decided to temporarily pause grant, loan and other financial assistance programs while a review is underway that specifically looks into halting spending for “DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”

In its letter to Marrero, the civil rights office cited an East High School parent, who told the district’s school board at a meeting last January that the latter has “sacrificed the comfort of these young females for this dubious change by now limiting their options.”

“We, as adults, should be protecting students at all costs,” said Lori Ramos. “Not using minors for this social experiment. This in my opinion is unlawful, immoral and is, in fact, a form of abuse.”

The federal office said the CEC Early College and Denver School of the Arts also installed multi-stall, “gender-neutral” bathrooms.

The investigation will examine whether the district “discriminates against students on the basis of sex by installing multi-stall all gender restrooms in District school facilities, in violation of Title IX and its implementing regulations,” the office said.

The civil rights office’s Denver regional unit will conduct the investigation and will be contacting district officials within a week, the federal education department said.

In a statement, Scott Pribble, the district’s spokesperson, said the “all-gender” bathroom was added as the “result of a student-led process that reflects our commitment to inclusivity and student voice, leadership, and empowerment, providing a welcoming space for all.”

The restroom’s lavatory stalls were designed for privacy, separated by 12-foot-tall partitions, Pribble said, adding that ensures the “comfort and security of all students who elect to use them.”

“This restroom serves all students, including those who may feel uncomfortable in gender-specific facilities and aligns with our values of supporting every student. The faculty of East High School has developed a plan to supervise and monitor this lavatory, just as they do with all others,” he said. “Currently, East High School has designated restrooms for male and female students in addition to the all gender lavatory.”

When asked earlier why the district converted a female restroom into an all-gender restroom over a men’s room, Pribble said it’s more convenient to do so. 

“It’s easier to convert a girl’s restroom to a gender-neutral restroom simply because of the type of hardware that is in place already in that room,” Pribble told 9News. “The girl’s restroom has toilets that can be accessed by everybody whereas a boy’s has different type of toilets that may be specific to specific genders and kind of changes the gender-neutral piece of it.”

Denver Gazette news partner, 9NEWS, contributed to this report. For more on this and other stories visit our partners at 9News.com.