DENVER (KDVR) — A Christian overnight camp and the Colorado Department of Early Childhood have settled a lawsuit brought by the camp earlier this year, alleging that it would have been forced to shut down if Colorado’s new rules that allow children to use facilities based on gender identity were enforced.

On Tuesday, the CDEC announced the settlement, noting that the camp voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit because the regulations it cited did not apply to the camp.

Camp IdRaHaJe, named for the hymn “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” filed a lawsuit in mid-May, citing a Colorado rule allowing children to use bathrooms, sleep and dress in facilities assigned to their gender identity, which the camp said violated “its religious and commonsense beliefs about biological sex.”

IdRaHaJe said in the lawsuit it requested to run the camp in line with its beliefs — i.e., requiring campers to use facilities determined by their biological sex.

The cited rules were based on the Colorado Civil Rights Commission's rules that implement the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. However, CDEC noted that the rules were adopted in 2009 and do not apply to religious organizations, such as Camp IdRaHaJe.

"CDEC adopted rules related to gender identity in 2018 for consistency with the CCRC’s rules and then amended those rules in February 2025," the CDEC said in its Tuesday announcement.

Churches, synagogues, mosques or entities used principally for religious purposes are exempt from CDEC's gender-identity regulations, which is consistent with current law.

“We are glad to support Camp Id-Ra-Ha-Je’s understanding of their ability to provide a Christian camp experience to kids. The CDEC did not take any enforcement action against Camp Id-Ra-Ha-Je related to any of the licensing regulations raised in the lawsuit and the camp was never under a threat of closure," said Dr. Lisa Roy, CDEC executive director. 

The Alliance Defending Freedom, which was representing the camp in federal court, said the camp was "freed" through the settlement.

“Government officials should never put a dangerous ideology ahead of kids,” said ADF Legal Counsel Andrea Dill in a release. “State officials must respect religious ministries and their beliefs about human sexuality; they can’t force a Christian summer camp to violate its convictions. We’re pleased that Camp IdRaHaJe is again free to operate as it has for more than 75 years: as a Christian summer camp that accepts all campers without fear of being punished for its beliefs.”

Camp IdRaHaJe opened for the summer season this year, and the CDEC said it is "not aware of any reason" that would have kept the camp from opening or operating this summer.