In an exclusive interview with "The Ingraham Angle," Serena and Joe Wailes, parents of an 11-year-old girl, have voiced their concerns over an incident that occurred during an overnight school trip.
Their daughter was allegedly assigned to share a bed with a transgender student, a decision they claim they were not informed about. The incident has led to the family taking legal action against Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS), also known as Jeffco, in Colorado.
The Wailes' daughter, referred to as "D.W." in the press release, was on a school-sponsored trip to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. According to a Dec. 5 press release by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian legal organization representing the family, she was supposed to share a room with three other girls. The ADF alleges that the parents were assured in multiple meetings before the trip that male and female students would be accommodated in separate hotel rooms and on different floors.
However, D.W. discovered that one of the students she was to share a room with, identified as "K.E.M.," was a transgender student - a biological male who identifies as a female. This information was revealed to her by the student in question. Uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a bed with a male student, D.W. contacted her parents, who then reached out to a chaperone on the trip.
The ADF press release explains that the chaperones suggested D.W. move to another bed in the same room. Despite her discomfort, D.W. agreed to this arrangement for one night. However, the chaperones, in line with district policy, allegedly instructed D.W. to lie about the reason for the switch, suggesting she say she needed to be closer to the air conditioner. When another roommate proposed that K.E.M. also move closer to the air conditioner, D.W., feeling unable to voice her concerns about gender identity in front of her roommates, again expressed her discomfort to her mother.
The ADF alleges that the school chaperones once again instructed D.W. to lie about the reason for the room rearrangement after she was placed in a room with only one other girl. Mrs. Wailes expressed her dissatisfaction with the district policy, stating, "We love our school, we love our teachers but what we don't love is this district policy that doesn't allow all students to feel comfortable and secure and protected."
Mrs. Wailes further claimed that she and her daughter were unable to discuss the incident with anyone else on the trip and were instructed to "hide it" to "protect all of the students that were on the trip." The ADF has sent a demand letter on behalf of the Wailes family to JCPS, requesting clarification by Dec. 18 on whether it will inform all parents about the policy and their children's room assignments, thereby allowing them to make informed decisions for their children.
The ADF contends that the school's policy is that students who identify as transgender should be assigned to share overnight accommodations with other students that share the student's gender identity consistently asserted at school. It further states that under no circumstance should a student who identifies as the opposite sex be required to share a room with students of the same sex. The ADF asserts that by applying the policy as it did, JCPS placed an 11-year-old girl in an uncomfortable and avoidable situation, depriving her parents of their right to make the best decision for their daughter.
Jeffco Public Schools, in an emailed statement to FOX News Digital, stated that student safety is paramount and partnership with families is a priority. The school is still determining the facts of the situation, given that it was only recently informed and the trip occurred outside of the school year and through a private travel organization. The school stated that it appears the student's transgender status was not known when room assignments were made and that room assignments were adjusted as soon as the transgender identity was known. The school is working with the private travel organization to learn more and anticipates a more detailed response by December 18 as requested by the ADF.
Mr. Wailes, speaking to "The Ingraham Angle," said he considered withdrawing his daughter from the trip after the incident but decided against it, stating, "She didnt do anything wrong." He added, "We think all kids deserve respect and privacy, but it needs to be applied equally to all children. And this policy, the way it is right now, is very one-sided."
Login