Group that oversees high school sports in Colorado agrees not to sanction schools over transgender policies
Despite the agreement, the districts are pressing forward with their legal challenge to safeguard the rights of young female athletes.
Multiple Colorado school districts, including Colorado Springs Districts 49 and 11, reached a settlement with the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) allowing them to enforce sports policies based on biological sex without facing sanctions.
The agreement permits these districts to maintain separate teams, locker rooms, and overnight accommodations while remaining eligible for CHSAA-sanctioned competitions.
It also ensures no penalties, beyond recorded forfeits, for opting out of competitions involving transgender athletes. In return, the districts will pay CHSAA $60,000 to cover legal fees.
CHSAA maintains that the litigation was “performative.”
”At no point before filing this lawsuit did the plaintiffs engage in any dialogue with CHSAA,” the group told KUSA. “No outreach was made to inquire about our policies, our procedures, or the steps we had already taken to support schools navigating these issues. Instead, CHSAA was directed to make a change, and a lawsuit was filed shortly thereafter—a decision we believe was much more performative than substantive.”
District leaders praised the outcome as a win for fairness and student privacy.
District 49 Superintendent Peter Hilts said CHSAA did the “right thing” by reaching an agreement with school districts, and promised continuing litigation “to ensure every district in Colorado has the freedom to protect girls’ sports, safeguard student privacy, and uphold the spirit of Title IX.”
[RELATED: UW–Madison faces federal civil rights complaint over transgender access policy]
The broader legal challenge against the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and the Attorney General’s Office remains ongoing, with a hearing scheduled this week.
The continuing case could take years to resolve and doesn’t override state anti-discrimination laws.
