A Colorado family's outrage over an incident on a 2023 school trip to Washington, D.C., has escalated into a federal appeal alleging violations of parental rights and a lack of school transparency. The Wailes family says their 11-year-old daughter discovered upon arrival that she had been assigned to the same hotel room — and, they allege, the same bed — as a transgender student and immediately called her mother, who was a chaperone on the trip.
Parents say school discouraged discussion. According to the family, the district allowed the girl to move to another room but instructed her not to explain the reason for the change. Mother Serena Wailes said the district discouraged the family from talking about the incident to "protect the privacy of the other student," and the family has questioned why their daughter's privacy received less consideration.
"They said they wanted to protect the privacy of the other student. Our thoughts are, 'What about the privacy of our daughter?'" — Serena Wailes
After unsuccessful attempts to resolve the matter with school officials, the family turned to litigation. The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a legal organization that often litigates matters involving religious liberty and parental-rights claims, filed an opening brief in Wailes v. Jefferson County Public Schools in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on behalf of four families.
The lawsuit alleges the Denver-area district permits biologically male students to share overnight accommodations with girls based on gender identity without notifying parents or securing parental consent. It also contends the incident contradicted earlier assurances from the district that boys and girls would be placed on separate hotel floors.
Father Joe Wailes told reporters the family felt ignored by school and district officials and pursued court action to prompt policy changes. ADF attorney Matt Sharp said the organization seeks an injunction against the current policy and wants schools to honor parental requests to keep children from sharing rooms with students of a different biological sex.
District response. Jefferson County Public Schools said it disagrees with several claims in the filing and expects to present the "true facts" in court, including the reasonable accommodations it says it offers students and families. The district added families ultimately decide whether to participate in programs that include overnight stays and asserted that it follows Colorado law when addressing student and family needs.
The case raises broader questions about how schools balance student privacy, gender identity accommodations, and parental notification. The 10th Circuit appeal will consider whether the district's policies and the handling of this incident infringed parents' rights or failed to provide adequate transparency.
