A policy allowing students to use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity is at the forefront of an investigation by the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights into the Westford Public Schools (WPS) district.
The investigation comes on the heels of a complaint filed last November by America First Legal Foundation (AFL) alleging discrimination on the basis of sex, in violation of Title IX. The complaint also pointed to WPS allowing students to participate in athletic programs on the basis of their gender identity.
According to a Fox News Digital report last week, the district appears to have removed the policy from their website. The report indicates the website previously included policies surrounding gender identity, pronoun usage, and defines terms like “gender nonconforming.”
The site does still include guidance on filing Title IX discrimination and Civil Rights complaints on the Student Right and Protections page.
Westford Schools Superintendent, Dr. Christopher Chew, has not yet responded to our request for comment on the matter, along with any information on when the district was notified of the DOE investigation, it’s response and whether the policies under investigation remain in place.
America First Legal was informed of the investigation March 30, 2026 in a letter from Daniel Greenspahn, an attorney for the DOE’s Civil Rights Division. The first page of the letter is displayed below. (Click here to view the full document)
Westford Schools implemented the policy in March of 2025, two months after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office, January 20, 2025.
The order, titled Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government, threatens the loss of federal funding from institutions which do not recognize a two-gender standard and instead rely on self-defined gender identity.
2 responses to “Westford Schools Under Title IX Investigation”
The Executive Order “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government” at https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government/ or https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/30/2025-02090/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal (more officially) is exceptionally well written. It distinguishes clearly between “sex”, a defining biological characteristic of individual mammals, and “gender identity ideology”, which is a belief system. It, correctly, doesn’t refer to a human being’s “gender”, because that is not a useful thing to talk about, as it does not really exist; the idea is essentially a category mistake.
Simple solution:
Penis Room – if you have a penis use this room.
Vagina Room – if you have a vagina use this room.