Cromwell Board Reads Statement on OCR Investigation, Defers Action on Transgender Policy After Public Comment

The Cromwell Board of Education on Tuesday read a formal statement about a pending U.S. Office for Civil Rights investigation into whether the district’s policies deprive girls of equal athletic opportunities and possibly restrict access to sex-segregated facilities.

The board’s statement, read by the Board Chair, said OCR notified Superintendent Dr. Macri on May 2, 2025, that it had opened a directed investigation and later sent a five-page proposed resolution agreement with a June 5 response deadline. The statement said the district had requested an extension from OCR that had not been granted and that it would be represented by legal counsel in the process.

The board’s statement said the proposed resolution “implicates issues far broader than the participation of transgender female athletes in athletic programs,” that some terms conflicted with state law (identified in the reading as “Connecticut General Statute ten-one 153”), and that the agreement as written would require Cromwell to withdraw all student athletes from CIAC-sponsored events, including state and New England regional competitions. The statement said the board could not sign the agreement as written at this time and urged the state to coordinate a consistent response for all districts.

Why it matters: The agreement’s proposed timeline and remedies would, the board said, immediately affect student-athlete participation in postseason events and raise questions about the district’s legal obligations and authority to change policies unilaterally under a compressed deadline.

Public comment that followed the announcement included several speakers urging the board to maintain inclusive policies. Kristen Basega said the policy at issue “is not just about sports” but also covers dress code, privacy, name and pronoun use, and staff training, and warned that Cromwell had been made a “test case” by the current federal administration. Shannon Hughes urged the board to respond with “courage, compassion, and a steadfast commitment to the well-being of all our students.” Jessica Lam, a local resident, praised the district’s prior work on inclusion and urged the board to “stay the course.”

A Cromwell High School student who identified themself as Simon described school as one of their only safe spaces and, citing data from the Trevor Project, warned that laws targeting transgender youth are associated with increased suicide attempts. Simon said, “I come to school knowing that I can go by the name I feel comfortable with,” and urged the board to consider students’ mental-health risks.

The board moved to defer any action on the proposed repeal of Policy 5,145.53 (the transgender/gender-nonconforming youth policy) and said it would continue consultations with legal counsel and relevant state and federal agencies.

What’s next: The board said it will continue to engage with counsel, the State Department of Education, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, CIAC, and the Attorney General’s Office as it evaluates OCR’s proposed resolution and possible next steps. The board will not sign the OCR resolution as written at this time and has sought an extension to allow more review.