District 11’s Proposed “Fairness in Sports” Policy Targets Transgender Students and Fails Our Community

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 28, 2025

District 11’s Proposed “Fairness in Sports” Policy Targets Transgender Students and Fails Our Community

Colorado Springs, CO — While students across Colorado Springs School District 11 begin their summer break, the District 11 Board of Education is considering a policy that would once again place a harmful spotlight on transgender youth in our schools. The proposed policy, JBA – Preserving Fairness and Safety in Sports, spearheaded by Director Jorgenson, seeks to exclude transgender students from athletic teams and locker rooms that align with their gender identity.

This policy is not about fairness. It is about exclusion.

“The language in this policy makes it clear—District 11 is targeting our transgender students rather than supporting them,” said Joseph Shelton, former D11 student, community advocate, and current candidate for the District 11 Board of Education. “If Bobby, a transgender male student, wants to play on the basketball team, he can’t—because there is no coed basketball. If Brenda, a transgender girl, must take a PE class, she is forced into the boys' locker room. This is not about creating a safe environment. It’s about legislating transgender students out of existence in our school activities.”

The policy mandates participation in sports and use of locker rooms and accommodations strictly based on “biological sex,” a term the policy narrowly defines as sex assigned at birth based solely on reproductive biology and genetics. Under the proposed guidelines, transgender girls would be banned from girls’ teams, and transgender boys would be barred from boys’ teams. It would also prevent trans students from lodging with their affirmed gender teams during travel, further isolating them from their peers.

Years ago, under the direction of Superintendent Michael Thomas, District 11 took an important step by moving to install all-gender restrooms in middle and high schools—a move that Shelton and other advocates proudly supported. But this policy reverses that progress by ignoring the need for safe and affirming locker room access for transgender athletes.

"This policy does not solve any real problem," Shelton said. "It replaces one manufactured political concern with real harm for our most vulnerable students. It does nothing to promote equity, student growth, or mental health—it only deepens the crisis of bullying and discrimination that trans students already face."

District 11’s stated priorities include improving student outcomes, empowering academic choice, and engaging with families and communities. Shelton questions how this proposed policy meets any of those goals.

“Instead of focusing on what our schools actually need—like improved counseling services, stronger academic supports, and healthier school climates—the Board is spending its time crafting discriminatory policies to score political points. This is about pushing a culture war agenda, not helping students.”

Shelton and other advocates are calling on the Board to reject this policy in its entirety and recommit to fostering a district where every student—regardless of gender identity—is respected, affirmed, and safe.

Media Contact:

Joseph Shelton

Community Advocate & Candidate for District 11 Board of Education

Joseph@SheltonforD11.com

719-290-0440

SheltonforD11.com