Major University Slapped With Civil Rights Complaint In Trans Bathroom Showdown

Guidelines at the University of Washington allowing gender-confused men to use women’s bathrooms violate federal law, according to a civil rights complaint obtained by The Daily Wire.  

A complaint, filed Thursday by Defending Education, accused the university of violating Title IX regulations that protect single-sex spaces such as bathrooms and changing areas.

It points to university policies stating that individuals are allowed to use facilities in line with their “gender identity” rather than their biological sex. 

“The University of Washington eschews these longstanding and unequivocal principles through its administration of dedicated LGBTQ scholarships, its bathroom facility policies that open private spaces to anyone on the basis of self-professed gender identity, and its pronoun policies that punish students for recognizing biological reality,” said the complaint, which was first obtained by The Daily Wire.

Defending Education called for the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate the university.

The complaint cites a university document called “Transgender Resources for UW Employees,” which states individuals are “welcome to use the restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms aligned with your gender or whichever choice you are most comfortable with.” It also references a university webpage that lists “all-gender restrooms.” 

“This presumably forces female UW students who attend class in the building to share bathrooms with male students, employees, and even guests,” the complaint said. 

Defending Education Vice President Sarah Parshall Perry told The Daily Wire that the policies directly conflict with guidance from the Trump administration, interpreting Title IX as requiring sex-separated private spaces. 

“The University of Washington — like too many other institutions of higher education in blue states — is engaged in what can only be described as a standoff with the Administration over the meaning of civil rights law,” she said. “Despite unambiguous federal language in Title IX, its implementing regulations, and related executive guidance, UW believes that ‘sex’ and ‘gender identity’ are the same. They most assuredly are not, and the Supreme Court has never held otherwise.”

The complaint also highlights the university’s overall promotion of transgender activism, including funding a center that provides free “tucking underwear” and “stand to pee” devices.

Defending Education filed the complaint the same day it launched its new Center for Litigation and Legal Policy, which will focus on filing administrative complaints, submitting legal briefs, and tracking developments in education-related law and policy. 

Perry told The Daily Wire the center would be “dedicated to identifying civil rights and civil liberties violations wherever we find them on campuses across the country.”