Colorado schools win landmark settlement protecting female athletes

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice

In a move that reshapes how school athletics operate across the state, School District 49 and seven partner districts have secured a landmark settlement with the Colorado High School Activities Association. The agreement formally protects biological sex policies for sports, locker rooms and overnight travel, and it removes CHSAA from the center of Colorado’s most charged debate over fairness, privacy and Title IX.

The December 4 settlement also allows the districts to continue full participation in sanctioned activities without penalty. District 49 described the outcome as a decisive step in restoring equal opportunity for girls and strengthening the role of local school boards in setting policy.

“CHSAA deserves credit for doing the right thing,” Superintendent Peter Hilts said in a statement Thursday. “By reaching this agreement, they’ve recognized the need to protect fairness in competition and privacy in school facilities for our female athletes. We appreciate their willingness to engage in thoughtful dialogue and reach a resolution that puts students first.”

The district said the settlement marks the first significant development in the broader case still moving through federal court and shows its continued commitment to student safety and equal opportunity.

How the settlement rewrites the rules

The settlement gives eight Colorado school districts enforceable protections, clarifying their authority to classify sports teams and intimate facilities according to biological sex. According to the agreement, CHSAA “will not sanction any team, competitor, or school… for its policies related to athletic participation by transgender student athletes,” which includes team designations, competition decisions and facility use.

Districts may separate locker rooms, hotel rooms and overnight accommodations without triggering any discipline from the activities association.

The agreement also clarifies that if a school forfeits a contest involving a transgender athlete, the only result is a recorded loss. CHSAA cannot treat the decision as a sportsmanship violation or launch an investigation.

That clarity gives districts confidence to enforce their policies consistently without risking further penalties.

Because the agreement is a binding settlement, its terms remain in force regardless of changes in CHSAA leadership. Future boards cannot undo the obligations created by the contract. 

For the plaintiff districts, this provides long-term certainty that their policies can be implemented and maintained.

CHSAA steps back from enforcement

Some of the farthest-reaching terms involve how CHSAA must treat district policies and public statements in the future. The settlement bars the association from labeling any sex-based athletic policy as misconduct or unsportsmanlike behavior. 

CHSAA “will not consider the adoption, maintenance, or enforcement of any policies related to the participation of or competition against transgender student athletes to be ‘gross misconduct’… or otherwise sanctionable,” according to the agreement.

The settlement also prevents CHSAA from treating certain public statements as violations.

Districts, administrators and coaches cannot be punished for acknowledging biological differences that affect safety or competitive fairness. CHSAA may not treat comments about the performance advantages of biological males in girls sports, or concerns about contact sports involving mixed biological sexes, as breaches of sportsmanship or ethics standards.

The association further acknowledged that it has no bylaw addressing the use of locker rooms, restrooms or other intimate facilities by athletes of any sex or gender identity.

Immediate impact on students and schools

District 49 said the settlement allows schools to maintain separate teams for boys and girls, keep locker rooms and travel accommodations separated by biological sex and avoid CHSAA penalties for enforcing these policies.

The agreement also gives districts the ability to comply with Title IX and the Constitution without sacrificing student privacy.

Although the settlement applies directly only to the eight plaintiff districts, CHSAA’s decision to resolve the dispute leaves other school boards with space to consider similar policies. The agreement signals a shift in how the association approaches enforcement. It also gives communities wrestling with the same questions room to reassess their own policies.

Hilts said he hopes the settlement gives school boards across Colorado the confidence to take similar steps. “I encourage school boards across the state to follow our lead and adopt similar policies that ensure equal opportunity and safety for all students.”

Federal law, state mandates and a widening gap

With CHSAA no longer part of the case, the remaining dispute shifts to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and Attorney General Phil Weiser. In its lawsuit, the district argues that Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act leaves schools no choice but to allow gender identity-based access to teams and intimate facilities, even if that conflicts with federal rules.

To protect equal opportunities for girls, federal law depends on sex-based classifications, the district said, particularly in sports where safety and competitive fairness carry real weight.

The district maintains that allowing biological males into girls competitions weakens those protections and can limit female athletes’ access to recognition, scholarships and advancement.

Those questions now form the core of what the federal court will be asked to decide.

The road to the December 4 agreement

The conflict began in May when District 49 adopted Policy JBA, which classifies teams and facilities by biological sex. The next day, the district filed its federal lawsuit, arguing that state law forced schools into a direct conflict with federal requirements.

Earlier this fall, Hilts told Rocky Mountain Voice that the district filed the lawsuit to resolve what he called incoherent and conflicting state and athletic policies.

Over the following months, D49, Colorado Springs School District 11, Academy School District 20, Education ReEnvisioned BOCES, Monument Academy, James Irwin Charter Schools, Montezuma Cortez School District and The Classical Academy joined as plaintiffs.

The settlement on December 4 formally removes CHSAA as a defendant and positions the Civil Rights Commission and Attorney General’s Office as the primary state actors whose policies will now be tested in court.

The pace of the case has accelerated in recent months as more districts moved to assert local authority over sports and facility policies.

A settlement that ends one chapter but not the conflict

District 49 described the settlement as real progress, even if it closes only one chapter of a much larger fight. The district plans to keep the case moving to confirm that school boards across Colorado can rely on sex-based athletic policies that protect student privacy and competitive balance.

Hilts called the settlement significant but added that “our work isn’t done,” and added, “We will continue litigation against the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and the Attorney General’s Office to ensure every district in Colorado has the freedom to protect girls’ sports, safeguard student privacy, and uphold the spirit of Title IX.”