Parents Sue District After School Forced Daughter to Share Bed with ‘Trans’ Male Student on Trip
A Colorado family’s troubling school trip has escalated into a federal legal case, and they are not alone.
According to a statement from the legal nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), four families are suing Jefferson County Public Schools after learning their children were placed in overnight sleeping arrangements with students of the opposite sex—without parental knowledge or consent.
For Joe and Serena Wailes, the breaking point came when their 11-year-old daughter was assigned to share a bed with a male student who identifies as female during a school-sponsored trip.
“No parent should have to discover something like that after the fact,” the Wailes family said. They are now joined by Bret and Susanne Roller and Rob and Jade Perlman, who claim the district’s policies violated their right to safeguard their children’s privacy and safety.
ADF filed a brief Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, arguing that Jefferson County schools assign sleeping arrangements based on gender identity, not biological sex, despite telling parents that boys and girls would be kept on separate floors.
According to ADF, the district quietly redefines “boy” and “girl” to reflect a student’s gender identity, without informing parents. The result, the group says, is that families receive a false sense of security while their children may be placed in intimate overnight accommodations with students of the opposite sex.
In the Rollers’ case, they discovered after their son’s trip that a female student had been assigned to his cabin and was supervising his showers. The Perlmans said the policy put their daughter at risk, noting she had previously experienced sexual harassment in a district middle school.
The families are asking the court to halt the district’s policy, arguing it infringes on parental rights, bodily privacy, and religious freedom.
ADF Senior Counsel Kate Anderson said the district’s refusal to offer sex-based accommodations contradicts its claim that it “freely grant[s] accommodations to all.”
“Teachers, administrators, and lawmakers are supposed to be looking out for children,” Anderson said. “Instead, in one of Colorado’s largest districts, they concealed information parents needed to protect their kids.”
ADF added that the policy also fails students struggling with gender identity, treating identity confusion as unquestionable rather than something requiring guidance and conversation.
The lawsuit raises broader questions about how schools balance student identity, privacy, and parental rights.
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