The U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday it is probing two school districts over allegations involving a high school teacher who forced same-sex students to kiss during class activities and a Pride Month exhibit that allegedly included vials of testosterone.
The investigations will determine whether Denver Public Schools (DPS) in Colorado and the Bethel School District in Washington state are in violation of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, a federal law that allows parents to opt their children out of school surveys, evaluations, or instructional activities involving sex behavior or attitudes, the department said.
“Parents must be the decision-makers in matters impacting the most intimate parts of their children’s lives,” Frank Miller, director of the Student Privacy Policy Office at the Education Department, said in a July 28 statement.
The agency said it plans further “significant actions” this week focused on enforcing parental rights laws following National Parents Day, which fell on Sunday.
District Fires Teacher
In the Denver case, the Education Department is investigating claims that a high school teacher required students of the same sex to kiss in front of the class.
Denver schools spokesman Scott Pribble said in a statement that the district placed the teacher on administrative leave and completed an investigation after students raised concerns in March 2025. The Board of Education fired the teacher in May of that year.
“The safety, emotional well-being, and dignity of our students are the absolute highest priorities of DPS,” the statement said. “Our actions to date have been wholly consistent with those priorities.”
Local reporting and an independent review by an administrative law judge earlier found that French teacher Jennifer Honka at Northeast Early College faced accusations that students felt pressured to take part in graded classroom skits involving same-sex kissing.
Students reported a classroom rule that goes “the answer is always yes.” The DPS board voted unanimously on May 20, 2025, to fire Honka for incompetence and neglect of duty.
The principal referred the matter to law enforcement; no criminal charges resulted.
Pride Exhibit Investigated
In the Washington case, the department is looking into a June Pride Month display at Graham-Kapowsin High School in the Bethel School District, about an hour south of Seattle. The exhibit included vials labeled as testosterone, with some containing a small amount of unknown liquid.
Bethel School District said in a statement that the vials were not authorized by school administrators, were immediately removed, and were turned over to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. Testosterone is a Schedule III controlled substance under federal law and is sometimes prescribed in transgender procedures.
“The inclusion of the vials was entirely unauthorized and did not receive approval from school leadership or administration,” the district said.
It added that it is reviewing protocols for overseeing displays “to ensure all school materials strictly align with our educational standards and community expectations.”
“Our primary focus remains on maintaining a safe, respectful, and focused learning environment for all of our students,” it said.
The district said it will fully cooperate with the Education Department investigation.
Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputy Carly Cappetto said school administrators identified the student who brought the vials to campus. Deputies responded to reports of a controlled substance on display. The sheriff’s office seized the vials as evidence.
Testing of the liquid to confirm whether it was testosterone would occur if requested by prosecutors, Cappetto said.
Officials have also challenged practices they say keep information about students’ transgender identities from parents, describing such policies as violations of federal privacy laws.
