The US department of education has launched an investigation into Denver Public Schools (DPS) after a teacher was accused of making female students kiss each other during classroom activities, marking the second federal investigation into the district in less than two years.
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According to The Denver Post, the department said it will examine whether the incident at Northeast Early College violated the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), a federal law safeguarding parents' rights, as well as Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
DPS, Colorado's largest K-12 school district, fired French teacher Jennifer Honka earlier this year after students alleged she made them participate in skits that called for teenagers to kiss one another and shared what a judge described as "sensitive and potentially traumatizing information" in class. The judge found that the district had sufficient evidence to terminate her employment for cause.
District spokesperson Scott Pribble said DPS had only recently received notice of the federal investigation and that it was "too early to comment" on the allegations against the district.
"The safety, emotional well-being, and dignity of our students are the absolute highest priorities of DPS," Pribble said in a statement. "Our actions to date have been wholly consistent with those priorities.
Immediately after learning of student concerns with this teacher in March 2025, the district placed the teacher on administrative leave and completed a thorough investigation.
The Education department said its Student privacy policy office will investigate whether the incident violated the Protection of pupil rights amendment, which gives parents the right to opt their children out of surveys or questionnaires seeking sensitive information about their families. The department said the Denver probe is among several investigations announced this week to mark National Parents' Day.
Its office for civil rights will also examine whether the incident violated Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational institutions.
Assistant secretary for civil rights Kimberly Richey alleged that DPS "compelled the sexual assault of minor students by forcing them to engage in blatantly sexualized conduct in class."
"It is abhorrent and the Trump Administration will fully investigate this perverse incident to protect students' safety and vigorously uphold students' rights across America," Richey said.
The investigation is part of the Trump administration's broader push against K-12 school districts with policies supporting transgender students and other members of the LGBTQ community. The federal government has repeatedly threatened to withhold federal funding from school districts with policies it considers discriminatory.
Since President Donald Trump returned to office last year, the education department has opened three other investigations into Colorado school districts. Last year, the department accused DPS of discriminating against girls by creating an all-gender bathroom at East high school but has not taken further action against the district in recent months despite its refusal to remove the facility.
DPS placed Honka on administrative leave last year after investigating the allegations against her. Honka, who is gay, alleged that the district discriminated against her because of her sexual orientation and appealed her dismissal, according to court documents. In April, a judge ruled that DPS had sufficient grounds to terminate her employment for incompetence and neglect of duty.
Before her dismissal, students also alleged that Honka told them her son was conceived using sperm from one of her aunt's husbands and spoke about her own suicidal thoughts during class.
