Parents of volleyball players at Dakota Ridge High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, say a male player was placed on the school's girls' junior varsity volleyball team this season while eight junior girls were cut. The district says it cannot confirm or deny information about any student.
Parents' account
Four Dakota Ridge parents raised concerns with Jeffco Public Schools, Fox News reported. Parent Tanna Donalson told the Denver Gazette that her daughter and seven other girls, all juniors, were cut from the JV team in favor of several freshmen, including the male player. She questioned why parents and students were not told.
Another parent told Fox News that her daughter, a setter, had been asked by coaches shortly before tryouts to switch to right-side hitter and was later cut, and that a male player was selected as a setter. That parent said she could not establish that the two were connected and has asked the district to review eligibility records, tryout evaluations and coaching communications.
A parent told Fox News that a complaint has been filed and that the district's Title IX coordinator is investigating. No findings have been reported. The district said no administrator has confirmed being aware of a male student on the team.
District response
Jeffco Public Schools told the Denver Gazette that it "does not keep a record of whether or not a student is transgender," and that federal law and state privacy regulations would bar it from confirming or denying such information in any case. The district said it sent a letter to families of players on the team saying administrators and coaches would meet with students who want more privacy in the locker room.
"Naming or publicly identifying students, or scrutinizing their bodies or physical development, can be deeply harmful to a child," district officials said.
The district says its policies follow the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and the rules of the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA), which allow students to play on teams matching their gender identity. The Gazette reported that districts are not necessarily required to follow the CHSAA guidelines. The state's official voter guide says at least seven Colorado schools and districts have adopted policies keeping male students off girls' teams.
Board vote on Prop 134
Jeffco's Board of Education voted unanimously to oppose Proposition 134, the Gazette reported. Board member Peter Gibbins called the measure "sloppy policy" and said it could undermine girls' athletics.
"My concern is that for members of our public who are opposed to transgender athletes competing on sports teams — which is far more rare than people realize — if somebody were simply accused of being transgender, they would be subject to a lot of really invasive exams, which is, I think, just horrifying," Gibbins said.
According to the Blue Book, the state's official voter guide, the measure "does not impose a specific method for determining or demonstrating biological sex," leaving verification procedures to individual schools and districts.
What Proposition 134 would do
Proposition 134 is a citizen initiative that would change Colorado statutes. It needs a simple majority to pass. According to the Blue Book:
- Every school team or sport must be designated as male, female, or coed/mixed, based on biological sex.
- Students must play on the team matching their biological sex or on a coed team. Male students could not play on girls' teams.
- Female students may play on a boys' team if no equivalent girls' team is offered in that sport.
- "Female" is defined as a person whose reproductive system is organized around producing ova (eggs). "Male" is defined as a person whose reproductive system is organized around producing sperm.
- It applies to public, charter, private and religious schools from elementary school through college, including intramural and school-sponsored after-school sports. It does not apply to youth leagues run separately from schools.
- Each school or district must adopt a policy to put it in place. For public K-12 districts that do not comply, the state Commissioner of Education must take corrective action.
- No government agency, accreditor or athletic association could investigate or penalize a school for keeping a team female-only.
A yes vote requires all school teams to be designated by biological sex, with girls' teams closed to male students, and requires schools to adopt sex-eligibility policies. A no vote leaves eligibility decisions to individual schools, districts and athletic associations under current state and federal law.
The Blue Book says it is "unclear at this time" how the measure would interact with the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.
The official ballot title asks:
> Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes creating new law restricting participation in all K-12 and collegiate school sports based on the participant's sex as determined by certain aspects of their biological reproductive system, and, in connection therewith, requiring a school, institution of higher education, or athletic association to designate each school or intramural athletic team or sport as male, female, or coeducational; only allowing participants to compete on the team or sport of their designated sex or to compete on a coeducational team; creating an exception to allow a female to participate on a male-designated team or sport if there is no female team available; prohibiting a government entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association from entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation, or taking other adverse action against a school for maintaining separate teams or sports for females; and providing the commissioner of education with the authority to enforce the proposed initiative for K-12 school districts?
Arguments in the voter guide
The Blue Book summarizes arguments on both sides. Supporters say female athletes should compete against other females, that males have physical advantages in strength, stature and lung capacity that affect fairness and safety, and that shared locker rooms raise privacy concerns. Opponents say the measure lacks a clear method for determining eligibility, which they argue could lead to uneven treatment and invasive testing, and that it would exclude students from teams with their peers.
Federal Title IX dispute
On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia v. B.P.J. that Title IX allows schools to keep female sports teams for biological females and that state laws doing so do not violate the Equal Protection Clause. The ruling permits such laws but does not require them, Chalkbeat reported.
In March, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights concluded that Jeffco violated Title IX by allowing male students to use female bathrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations and to compete in female sports. It said rosters indicated male students "may occupy up to 61 roster positions on girls' sports teams." The district said those students were managers, trainers and mascots, not athletes, CPR News reported.
The Education Department has referred the district to the U.S. Department of Justice, Fox News reported. In July, Jeffco sued the Education Department to block the withholding of roughly $50 million in federal funding, arguing that the department's demands conflict with Colorado law.
On Sept. 28, the Education Department formally rescinded the 2024 Title IX regulations and restored the 2020 regulations.
Colorado's general election is Nov. 3.
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Sources: Denver Gazette, Fox News, Colorado Legislative Council Blue Book, Proposition 134, 2026 Colorado State Ballot Information Booklet, U.S. Supreme Court, West Virginia v. B.P.J., U.S. Department of Education (March 13, 2026), U.S. Department of Education (Sept. 28, 2026), CPR News, Chalkbeat Colorado
*Cover photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Mike Kaplan (public domain). The players pictured are Air Force Academy volleyball players and are not connected to this story.*