Ohio college 'illegally forcing students' to share bathrooms with opposite sex: watchdog

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the college said, "Kenyon fully complies with all state and federal laws."

"We are committed to ensuring that women on Kenyon's campus do not experience discrimination or harassment of any kind, just as we do for all students and the faculty and staff who support them," the spokesperson said. "We look forward to working with the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights and the Ohio Attorney General to address any concerns they may have."

According to its policy update, Kenyon justifies its administrative multi-occupancy restrooms by stating that the restrooms are "not, and cannot be, designated for use exclusively by students" and students "are permitted to use these restrooms if they choose to do so, but the student restroom requirements outlined above do not apply to these facilities."

However, Ohio law states that any "restroom... accessible to multiple individuals at the same time" must adhere to sex-based entry restrictions, AFL argues.

The letter points out that other Ohio schools comply by applying these restrictions to all multi-occupancy restrooms.

"The order establishes that it is the official policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female, defining 'sex' as 'an individual's immutable biological classification as either male or female [and] is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of 'gender identity,'" AFL's letter to the DOE states. 

"Furthermore, Kenyon's failure to provide separate restrooms for men and women in academic and administrative buildings appears to violate Title IX," the letter reads.

"Let me be clear: it is a new day in America, and under President Trump, OCR will not tolerate discrimination of any kind," Trainor said in a news release last month.

The Department of Education, which Trump has indicated he wants to fully dismantle and where workforce reductions are already underway, is a key battleground in the new administration for overturning Biden-era DEI and woke policies.