Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free weekly newsletter to keep up with how education is changing across the U.S.The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Denver Public Schools over an incident in which a high school teacher was accused of making girls kiss each other as part of a class assignment.The Education Department’s description of the allegation is consistent with a previously reported incident at Northeast Early College during the 2023-24 school year. Local news outlets CBS Colorado and the Denver Gazette reported that an independent review found that students in a French class felt pressured to kiss other students of the same sex as part of skits performed in class. The district fired the teacher in question. The school principal also referred the incident to law enforcement. No criminal charges resulted. Federal officials said Tuesday their investigation will focus on whether the district ignored any opt-out requests from parents or students, and whether parents were notified in advance about the nature of the assignment. The Office for Civil Rights will also look at whether the district complied with Title IX requirements in its handling of the incident.The Denver investigation comes as the Office for Civil Rights has shifted its focus to political priorities such as transgender sports participation, bathroom access policies, and antisemitism on college campuses. The Education Department previously found DPS in violation of Title IX for converting a girls restroom at East High School to a gender-neutral restroom, but it has not pursued any enforcement action. The Education Department, which did not name the teacher or the school at the center of the allegations, said the latest investigation is part of a larger effort to protect parents’ rights and prevent schools from exposing students to content related to sexual and gender identity. In the same press release, the department announced an investigation into Bethel School District in Washington state related to a Pride Month display. “Shocking reports from across the country indicate that our kids are being subjected to inappropriate material, surveys, and events in schools, and parents’ fundamental right to review such materials and opt their children out of these suggestive activities appear to be disregarded in the process,” said Frank Miller, director of the federal Student Privacy Policy Office, in a press release.A spokesperson for Denver Public Schools said the district had just received the investigation notice and could not comment on the assertions Tuesday. In an emailed statement, spokesperson Scott Pribble said the district appreciates the bravery of students who came forward and staff who acted as mandatory reporters. The district learned of student concerns in March 2025 and immediately placed the teacher on administrative leave while an investigation was conducted, the statement said. That investigation resulted in the school board voting unanimously to fire the teacher at a May 20 board meeting.“The safety, emotional well-being, and dignity of our students are the absolute highest priorities of DPS,” Pribble said. “Our actions to date have been wholly consistent with those priorities.”The Education Department said it would announce more investigations this week in honor of National Parents Day, which was Sunday. These investigations will look for potential violations of Title IX and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in education. The protection of student rights law gives parents the right to review instructional materials and opt their students out of surveys and evaluations. The Education Department has also partnered with the Justice Department to launch a series of investigations into school district policies that limit parental notification when students express a different gender identity at school. The Trump administration says such policies violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which gives parents the right to review any educational records related to their own child. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said such investigations would be a priority as more oversight of civil rights in schools moves to the Justice Department. According to previous media reports, a teacher asked students to perform skits in French class that included same-sex kissing. This allegedly occurred during the 2023-24 school year but was not reported until later. The teacher said she gave students alternatives, such as a fist bump or blowing a kiss to each other. However, the independent review written by an administrative law judge in Colorado reported students said they felt pressured by a classroom policy that “the answer is always ‘yes.’” At least one student said she kissed a female classmate at the teacher’s direction despite feeling uncomfortable with it, and another said she received a zero when she refused to participate in the skits. Students also told an investigator they felt uncomfortable that the teacher always selected girls and never boys to participate in these skits, according to the review. The teacher, a veteran educator who had previously received strong performance reviews, told the investigator she felt targeted because she was open at school about being a lesbian and participated in LGBTQ advocacy. Erica Meltzer is Chalkbeat’s national editor based in Colorado. Contact Erica at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org.
