Parents file Title IX complaint against Rochester Memorial School over alleged restroom incident involving third grade girl and transgender student

The parents of a third grade student at Rochester Memorial School in Rochester, Massachusetts have filed a Title IX complaint against the Old Rochester Regional School District alleging that the school failed to protect their daughter after a male student, who identifies as female, entered the girls’ restroom and allegedly exposed their daughter while she was using a toilet.

According to a complaint filed by the Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center on behalf of Luis and Kerri Rivera, the incident allegedly took place on Friday, May 1st after recess. The Riveras’ daughter was reportedly in a stall in the girls’ restroom when the male student entered, looked under the stall door, asked “whose feet are those?”, peered through the crack between the door and the wall, and then pushed the door open. The complaint alleges the male student saw the girl partially undressed and exclaimed, “oh, it’s [redacted]!” before she was able to close the door. Another female student was in the next stall and reportedly heard the incident.

The complaint further states that the girl returned to class distraught and in tears, and that she is now physically sick with anxiety about attending school out of fear of further incidents. It also notes that the Riveras heard from another parent that there was another incident with the same male student.

According to the complaint, Kerri Rivera had contacted Principal Heidi Letendre on at least three prior occasions, beginning in November 2025, to report that the male student was using the girls’ restroom, including during a field trip to Plimoth Patuxet Museums. The complaint states that Principal Letendre initially told Ms. Rivera that male students were not allowed in the girls’ restroom and would not be permitted to do so going forward.

However, after the May 1st incident, the Riveras allege the school’s response changed. When Ms. Rivera reported the May 1st event by phone on May 4th, Principal Letendre reportedly called it unacceptable. Yet later that same day, the complaint says the daughter observed the male student using the girls’ restroom again. In a follow-up email on May 4 and a written response on May 5, the principal reportedly attributed the incident in part to the stall door not being locked and suggested the girl use a single-occupancy restroom or the nurse’s bathroom if she felt uncomfortable. The school also implemented a “Student Support/Safety Plan.”

The complaint highlights what it calls a discrepancy: Principal Letendre later told the child directly that the male student was “legally allowed” to use the girls’ restroom under Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidance on gender identity. The Riveras were not informed of this conversation by the principal, according to the filing.

The complaint argues that the male student’s alleged actions constitute sex-based harassment under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs. It cites the incident as creating a hostile environment that has limited the girl’s ability to participate in school.

The filing further alleges that the school’s response has been “deliberately indifferent,” a legal standard under Title IX case law. It claims the school has taken no disciplinary action against the male student, has not barred him from the girls’ restroom, and has instead placed the burden on the victim to avoid the space. The complaint also contends that the school’s broader policy of allowing male students into female-designated restrooms violates Title IX by denying female students privacy, safety, and dignity in intimate facilities.

The document references prior U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights findings against other school districts that permitted biological males access to female restrooms and showers, arguing that Title IX preempts any conflicting state guidance.

The Riveras demand: a prompt and thorough investigation under the district’s own policies (ACAB and ACAB-R); disciplinary action against the male student who allegedly harassed their daughter; a prohibition on that student using the girls’ restroom; and a district-wide policy change ensuring no male students are allowed to use restrooms designated for female students.

As of the date of this filing, the Old Rochester Regional School District has not issued a public response to the allegations.