GOLDEN, Colo. — The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Jefferson County Public Schools for how the district handles sexual misconduct claims.
It was one of several similar investigations announced Tuesday, being led by the Department’s Office of Civil Rights.
Denver7 reporter Ryan Fish has more on this investigation in the video below:
In recent years, JeffCo Public Schools has dealt with multiple employees — including a former security guard and a former social worker — being arrested for, or convicted of, sexual abuse against students.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Former Jeffco Schools employee arrested for sex assault on a child had compromising evidence since 2018: Docs
- Former Jeffco Schools social worker pleads guilty in 2024 sexual assault case
- Jeffco parents claim to have proof of 'troubling pattern' of unreported issues within school district
JeffCo parent Lindsay Datko filed complaints about the district to the federal government. This week, she received a letter from the Department of Education, which she shared on social media.
In it, the Department announced it would be looking into whether the district’s policies regarding and response to claims of sexual harassment against students violate Title IX, the landmark 1972 law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education programs.
“Just relieved that there will be another layer of accountability,” Datko told Denver7 Wednesday.
Datko founded the parent advocacy group JeffCo Kids First, which has compiled dozens of sexual misconduct allegations involving district staff. The group is using these claims to push for broader changes.
“We used open records and corroborated reports from victims and employees to be able to document these 48 cases,” she said. “There are multiple patterns that we've uncovered, such as the reporting gaps to the Colorado Department of Education, which have allowed some of these employees to then be hired in neighboring districts, or for JeffCo to then hire employees that were under investigation in another district and ignored red flags in reference checks.”
Datko says she filed her complaints to the federal government both last year and this summer, after she says local authorities didn’t take action.
“We just were not able to break through the layers of bureaucracy here in Colorado,” she said.
JeffCo Public Schools didn’t respond to a request for an interview Wednesday, but sent Denver7 a statement:
Student safety is top priority for Jeffco Public Schools. We follow strict rules to investigate and handle any reports of adult sexual misconduct. This kind of behavior goes completely against our goals and values. There is no place in our school district for anyone who breaks a student’s trust.
We are aware of a complaint sent to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and their request for information. We cannot comment publicly on specific investigations or employees. However, we welcome the chance to share complete and accurate facts with the OCR about our ongoing work to keep students safe, while also respecting the privacy of everyone involved.
Datko accused the district of going into “self-protect mode with these issues.”
“It keeps them from the transparency that's required to regain trust,” she said.
She added that local authorities, like Attorney General Phil Weiser’s Office, “lend a concerning ear, so to speak, [but] we very much follow up and seek action.”
Weiser’s office told Denver7 it “cannot confirm or otherwise comment on investigations.” The Colorado Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment.
First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King’s Office says Datko reached out last year "regarding allegations involving a specific high school employee."
"Law enforcement investigated those allegations but did not submit the matter to our Office for a charging review," spokesperson Brionna Boatright added. "We are not aware of the specific allegations or the basis for the federal inquiry, so we cannot confirm whether it involves the same concerns."
The response also added that because Title IX is a federal law, enforcing that falls outside of the Office's authority.
"Under Colorado criminal law, our Office has prosecuted seven Jeffco school employees for sexual misconduct since 2024," Boatright said. "We take the safety of children seriously and work with our law enforcement partners every day to hold offenders accountable."
Separately, JeffCo’s transgender student policies have faced federal scrutiny. In July, the district sued the Trump administration to prevent the Department of Education from withholding $50 million
in federal funds over those policies. that lawsuit is ongoing.
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