[September 4, 2026] Today, the Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) celebrates the announcement that the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is launching an investigation into the Upper Perkiomen school district in Pennsylvania over its unlawful gender identity policies that violate Title IX.

SLF previously requested an investigation from OCR and filed a Title IX complaint on behalf of Jan Madeira, whose special needs daughter was forced to choose between sharing a restroom with a biological boy or not using it at all. This proved to not be an isolated incident with multiple girls issuing their discomfort. The school district, instead of prioritizing the comfort and safety of girl students, has completely ignored their complaints and to make matters worse, even installed a urinal in the girls restroom.

SLF President Kim Hermann said, “We are extremely grateful that OCR is officially investigating the Upper Perkiomen school district over their disgusting gender identity policies. This should have never happened. This school district prioritized a biological boy identifying as a ‘girl’ in the name of their own woke beliefs, and they put the safety of young girls at risk to do it. They completely tilted Title IX on its head and it is essential that they be held accountable for their actions. As SLF celebrates 50 years of defending the constitutional rights and freedom of Americans, we remain committed to standing up for parents and students when their rights are threatened. This investigation is an important step toward accountability, and we look forward to seeing these policies come to an end.”

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