The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Denver Public Schools for its handling of a French high school teacher who was fired earlier this year over requiring students to perform a same-sex kissing scene as part of a classroom acting assignment.

The Office of Civil Rights is investigating the district’s response and whether it met the requirements of Title IX, a 1972 federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination.

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey called the case “abhorrent,” saying the Trump administration will fully investigate “this perverse incident.”

“Schools have an obligation to prevent and address sexual assault,” Richey said in a statement. “Yet in Colorado, school personnel are alleged to have compelled the sexual assault of minor students by forcing them to engage in blatantly sexualized conduct in class.” 

The district’s dismissal proceedings did not characterize the classroom assignment as a sexual assault, though an administrative law judge found students felt pressured and uncomfortable participating in the exercise.

The Student Privacy Policy Office is also investigating whether parents were notified about the “sex behaviors or attitudes” in a Northeast Early College classroom last year and whether parent or student opt-outs or complaints were ignored.

“Parents must be the decision-makers in matters impacting the most intimate parts of their children’s lives,” Frank Miller, director of the Student Privacy Policy Office, said in a statement. “Parents — not school officials — know best when it comes to their children.”

In May, the school board unanimously voted to dismiss Jennifer Honka, a French teacher, after an administrative law judge found the district had proved its claims of incompetence and neglect of duty.

The board could have rejected the April 30 decision by Judge Keith J. Kirchubel.

According to Kirchubel’s decision, students felt pressured and uncomfortable during classroom skits that included “same-gender” kissing scenarios, while acknowledging Honka did not literally force students to kiss.

“Regardless of whether Respondent ‘forced’ the participants to kiss, her choice of script forced them to express their preferences and consent about a very personal and sexualized activity on the spot in front of their peers,” Kirchubel wrote in his decision. “They were also forced to determine whether they were comfortable dissenting from the direction of the script to their teacher, who was in a position of control over the situation.”

Honka had been on paid leave since March last year. The complaint was lodged in February, said Scott Pribble, a district spokesperson. Honka’s paid leave ended in December.

Pribble said it is “too early” to comment on the federal government’s assertions. But he did say that district officials responded swiftly to the incident.

“The safety, emotional well-being and dignity of our students are the absolute highest priorities of DPS,” Pribble said in an email. “Our actions to date have been wholly consistent with those priorities.”

The Department of Education announced the investigation earlier this week, noting National Parents’ Day was July 26, a day which recognizes parents’ role in their children’s education.

The department also revealed it is investigating whether officials at the Bethel School District in Washington “exposed” students to vials of testosterone as part of a Pride Month display in June. Police removed the display out of health and safety concerns associated with an unmonitored controlled substance being left in proximity to minors.

And on Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced action being taken against officials in Anne Arundel County after determining the district classifies a student’s gender identity as “confidential medical information” that is not shared with parents.

More investigations across the United States are expected to be announced this week.