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U.S. Department of Education reviews Westford Public Schools policy on transgender and gender nonconforming students
Summary
Following a complaint by America First Legal on behalf of a Westford parent, the U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into Westford Public Schools’ March policy allowing students to use restrooms and locker rooms aligned with self-identified gender; district superintendent Christopher Chu said policies follow Massachusetts state law.
The U.S. Department of Education has opened a review of Westford Public Schools’ policies on transgender and gender-nonconforming students after a complaint filed by America First Legal on behalf of a Westford parent, the news show reported.
The complaint, according to the broadcast, alleges the district’s March policy permits students to use bathrooms and locker rooms according to their self-identified gender and says students who objected were required to leave, while parents were barred from changing the policy. America First Legal President Gene Hamilton criticized the district, saying the policy “silences and harms girls” and urged the DOE review as a defense of Title IX protections against sex-based discrimination.
Superintendent Christopher Chu told Westford Cat in a November interview that the district’s policies are aligned with Massachusetts state law and are intended to be more protective than federal standards. “Our policy and all the policies we have, but specifically the policy in question about transgender and gender non-conforming students is following Massachusetts state law,” Chu said on a prior interview broadcast in the segment. “In both cases, we've been aligning our policies to the Massachusetts state laws which are more protective than federal laws and states are allowed to do that.”
The hosts also summarized references made on air to a January 2025 federal court ruling and a 2025 executive order cited by the complainant; the broadcast did not provide full citations or the complainant’s name. The program said the complainant previously submitted an op-ed criticizing the district’s policy.
The broadcast did not report a DOE finding or timeline for the agency’s review. It also did not provide verbatim excerpts of the complaint or the district policy text; Superintendent Chu’s remarks were from a November interview previously conducted by Westford Cat.
