COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — School District 49 (D49) passed a resolution requiring students to use areas such as bathrooms and locker rooms that match their biological sex during a special board meeting Wednesday night. The resolution passed by a 3-2 vote.
The resolution, known as JBAA, aligns with a previous resolution JBA that the D49 board passed this spring establishing competitive sports as "sex segregated."
While the earlier resolution focused on athletics, Wednesday's resolution addressed shared facilities like bathrooms and locker rooms.
Resolution JBAA defines biological sex and establishes differences between "sex segregated" facilities and private spaces or single-user facilities. The document states the policy complies with federal regulations, Title IX and judicial precedents.
Board members opposed to the resolution criticized their colleagues, with some calling them a single-issue board. Devin, a former District 11 student advocating for transgender students, questioned the board's priorities.
"D-49 has a lot of issues they should be focusing on. Why is my community their main focus?" said Devin.
Board members who supported the resolution said they wanted to protect other students. Board Vice President Jamilynn D'Avola expressed concern about biological males sharing restrooms with girls.
"It's extremely important to make sure we are protecting the rights of our girls and our boys and all others," said D'Avola.
"It's important that we have sex-segregated bathrooms so that our girls have private spaces without having someone who is biologically a man in their bathroom," said D'Avola.
Those opposed to the vote, including former District 11 student Emery Stellick, argued against the policy.
"Having them use a non-gendered option is not inclusive," said Stellick.
Opponents also questioned whether there was evidence of safety concerns.
"If there was a big issue with that, we would've noticed it through statistics," said Stellick.
The votes come as the Trump administration is withholding funds if schools don't comply. While this goes against Colorado state law, schools are pressing forward to avoid losing critical funding.
Because this was a special meeting, no public comment was permitted. The next opportunity for community members to comment will be at the board's October 9 meeting.
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