Defending Ed Files Civil Rights Complaint Against Las Cruces Public Schools for Title IX and Equal Protection Clause Violations

On September 25, 2025 Defending Ed (DE) filed a complaint against Las Cruces Public Schools (LCPS) for discrimination on the basis of sex in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance in violation of both Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et. seq, and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The complaint states the following: 

LCPS is home to forty different schools with over 23,000 students, but it prioritizes a few students’
subjective preferences over thousands of other students’ rights. Although Title IX prohibits discrimination “on the basis of sex,” LCPS instead prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity, even though a federal court and the Department of Education rejected that interpretation of Title IX eight months ago. Gender identity discrimination is not the same as sex discrimination under Title IX, and the Supreme Court has never held otherwise.

In light of the above, LCPS Regulation JBD-R appears to violate Title IX. It also violates various Presidential Executive Orders on policies related to sex discrimination in federally funded programs, and this Department’s stakeholder guidance on Title IX and the prevention of sex discrimination in federally funded programs. In relevant part JBD-R (Exhibit A) states:

As a general rule, all district students shall be provided access to designated single-sex facilities at school and in all district-sponsored activities, including overnight events, and extracurricular activities on and off campus, consistent with the student’s affirmed gender identity or preference, to the extent permitted by New Mexico Activities Association bylaws.

Specifically, JBD-R states: “Students shall have access to the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity at school.” It extends this mandate to LCPS locker rooms. In yet another apparent exercise in sex discrimination, JBD-R states: “students shall be permitted to participate in physical education classes and intramural sports in a manner consistent with their affirmed gender identity.”

Section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution asserts: “No state shall make or enforce any
law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The Supreme Court held in Craig v. Boren that to
withstand equal protection scrutiny, sex distinctions “must serve important governmental objectives and must be substantially related to achievement of those objectives.”

LCPS’s restroom and locker room policies and its intramural athletic policy appear to violate Title IX and
the Equal Protection Clause.

The Department’s own guidance on Title IX clarifies that covered educational programs and activities include: “[A]ll the operations of a school that receives financial assistance including academics, extracurricular activities, athletics, and other programs. Title IX applies to all operations of a school, including those that take place in the facilities of the school, on a school bus, or in a class or training program sponsored by the school at another location.”

Accordingly, we ask that the Department promptly investigate all the allegations in this complaint, act swiftly to remedy unlawful policies and practices, and order appropriate relief.

Thank you for your prompt assistance with this request for investigation and resolution.

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