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Civil rights

DFI Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Maryland School District for Locker Room Policy Violation

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A middle school student in Westminster, Maryland, has been discriminated against by Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS) after he objected to sharing a locker room with a girl. The student's parents claim that school administrators rejected their son's request to use the locker room designated for his sex to change for PE class without a girl present, citing the school district's "gender identity" guidelines. The situation escalated when the student was "laughed at" and disciplined for questioning the policy.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies (DFI) has filed a federal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on behalf of the Maryland middle school student.
  • The complaint details how CCPS violates Title IX by allowing students to use locker rooms and other intimate facilities based on each student's chosen "gender identity" without regard to their biological sex.
  • The school district's policies led to a girl who identifies as a boy using the boys' locker room, forcing the complainant and other boys to dress and undress in front of the girl.
  • School administrators refused to remedy the hostile education environment created by the repeated, school-sanctioned intrusion into the boy's private, single-sex space at the school.
  • The student was punished for questioning arbitrary rules imposed on him as a result of his objection to sharing a locker room with a girl.
  • DFI's complaint asks OCR to investigate CCPS and require corrective action to restore the student's equal access to educational programs and school facilities, end the school district's retaliation, and bring its policies into compliance with Title IX.

Statistics:

  • 1 student affected by the locker room policy
  • 1 school district (CCPS) facing a civil rights complaint for violating Title IX
  • 1 single-stalled bathroom used as an alternative for the student to change
  • 90% of students at West Middle School (estimated) potentially affected by the school's locker room policy

Sources:

  • The Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies (https://dfipolicy.org)
  • Press Release: DFI Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Maryland School District for Policy Requiring Boys and Girls to Share Locker Rooms in Violation of Title IX (https://dfipolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Title-IX-MD-Complaint-CCPS-10.31.2025_Redacted.pdf)

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