The Trump administration said Tuesday it is investigating the ConVal School District for allegedly allowing “biological men” to use girls’ restrooms and locker rooms in violation of federal law. What's unclear is whether the school district has changed its policies since a national group filed the civil rights complaint that initiated the investigation.
The case started in 2024 when a parent told a ConVal school principal they were unhappy the school had allowed a transgender girl to change in the girl’s locker room while their daughter was in there.
“While I understand the district's commitment to inclusivity and supporting transgender students, I believe the current policy may not fully address the privacy and safety concerns of all students,” the parent told Principal Heather McKillop in an email. “The locker room is a spаce where students have an expectation of personal privacy.”
The parent’s email exchange with school officials was made public by Defending Education, which filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education in August 2025. The parent’s name is redacted. On its website the group says “we fight indoctrination in classrooms.”
At the time the parent complained, federal law prohibited schools from barring transgender students from using locker rooms and bathrooms that aligned with their gender identity.
In her reply to the parent, McKillop said state law allows “biological males in girls-only spaces.” She also noted that two months earlier then-Gov. Chris Sununu had vetoed a bill that would have overturned that law.
“If your daughter is uncomfortable utilizing the locker room because of another student's usage, we can accommodate her by allowing her to change elsewhere, but we cannot require that the other student change in a different location,” McKillop wrote.
But by 2025, New Hampshire school districts had begun to reevaluate their policies to comply with the Trump administration's reversal of transgender protections. Federal officials warned school districts they would lose federal funding if they allowed transgender girls to play on girls sports teams.
It was unclear why the U.S. Department of Education launched its investigation seven monthsafter Defending Education filed its complaint. The department did not return a message.
In its press release Tuesday, the Trump administration cited a Conval school district policy that allows students to access “intimate facilities based on ‘gender identity,’ not biological sex. It also said “that discrimination based on sex is also notably absent from Contoocook Valley High School’s non-discrimination policy.”
However, according to the school district’s website, its non-discrimination policy includes discrimination based on sex among more than 15 other characteristics.
ConVal school district Superintendent Ann Forrest said she learned of the investigation Tuesday.
"We are currently in the process of reviewing the complaint," Forrest said in an email. "The district is committed to following both state and federal anti-discrimination laws. The district’s anti-discrimination policies constitute a comprehensive plan required by state law to prevent, assess the presence of, intervene in, and respond to incidents of discrimination."
She declined to say whether the district's policies have changed since the parent's complaint in 2024.
The federal investigation comes a month after Gov. Kelly Ayotte, like Sununu, vetoed Republican backed legislation that would allow schools and other public entities to ban transgender people from restrooms, locker rooms, jails, and other spaces that don’t match their sex at birth.