The United States Department of Education is exploring whether a trans-inclusive bathroom policy at a Georgia school district enabled a kindergarten assault, reports The Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

According to a legal complaint, a 5-year-old girl at Oakhurst Elementary School in Decatur says she was sexually assaulted in the girl's bathroom at school by another student last November. (The complaint identifies the student accused of the assault as "gender-fluid," and early reporting followed suit; however, school officials told Decaturish, a local news blog, that the student is male and doesn't identify as trans or gender-fluid.)

The complaint was filed this May by attorney Vernadette Broyles under the federal Title IX law and asserts that the school district created a dangerous environment for girls by "eliminating their expectation of privacy from the opposite sex."

According to Broyles, the elementary school's inclusive policy regarding trans students was too vague, and Superintendent David Dude failed to clearly explain how it would be implemented. She also accused the district of reacting inappropriately to the allegations when the girl's mother came forward.

In a statement from the school district, officials noted they were "aware of the unfounded allegations" and they "fully disagree with their characterization of the situation." (The incident was reportedly investigated by social service agencies shortly after it occurred, and the allegations were determined to be unfounded.)

Broyles' legal efforts are backed by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the same "religious liberty" advocacy group that successfully defended anti-gay Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips.

ADF is also listed as an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

On September 14, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights informed Broyles it would be investigating the incident. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who happened to be in Georgia for an unrelated event, told The Journal-Constitution that she wasn't aware of the allegations, but it was her agency's "duty" to investigate such claims.

This is the same DeVos who confirmed in February that under her tenure, the Education Department would no longer explore claims of anti-transgender discrimination at American public schools.

In a statement to Politico, fellow ADF lawyer Christina Holcomb added, "This situation was both deeply tragic and avoidable. Schools have a duty to protect the privacy and safety of all students and Decatur Schools clearly failed this young girl. The current approach that many schools are taking of passing these transgender bathroom policies isn’t working; they fail to provide basic privacy or ensure the safety of all students."

Notably, Holcomb's statement comes mere months after an academic study from The Williams Institute at UCLA confirmed that there is no actual link between trans-inclusive bathroom, locker room, or changing room policies and personal safety in such spaces.