Hundreds attended a school board meeting in Illinois Thursday evening to voice their support for a transgender student after a parent complained about her using the girl’s locker room.
Deerfield parent Nicole Georgas claimed last month that her 13-year-old cisgender daughter was “forced” to use the girl’s locker room at the same time as a trans girl, resulting in daughter refusing to change there. With the help of conservative groups the Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies and the Liberty Justice Center, Georgas filed a federal civil rights complaint.
The U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into Chicago Public Schools and Deerfield Public Schools District 109 in March for supposed Title IX violations. The district has maintained that it is complying with state federal anti-discrimination laws.
“Federal Title IX and the Illinois Human Rights Act prohibit all public school districts from discriminating on the basis of sex, including gender identity,” Superintendent Katerina Schroeder said in a statement. “Current laws mandate that students must be permitted access to the locker room and bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. We are following the law.”
Beyond Illinois state law, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that federal laws protecting against sex discrimination in employment, including Title VII, encompass gender identity. Donald Trump’s executive orders against trans students, which are being challenged in courts, are not law.
Schroeder also noted that no one is “forced” to change in front of others regardless of gender, as “all students also have multiple options to change in a private location separate from the locker room if they wish.”
“We are sensitive to the privacy needs of all our middle school students and ensure that no student is required to change into a gym uniform for physical education class in front of others,” Schroeder continued. “When both our middle schools were renovated in 2017, we added five private changing stations within each locker room that are available to all students.”
Deerfield Public Schools District 109 held its first board meeting since becoming subject to the Education Department’s investigation Thursday night. The meeting was attended by a local chapter of Moms For Liberty, a designated extremist hate group, which was drowned out by hundreds of community members who showed up to support the young trans girl.
So many community members turned out that they were not all able to fit in the building. A crowd of people holding LGBTQ+ Pride flags and affirming signs wrapped around the building outside as several trans youth and their families spoke at the meeting inside.
One of the speakers was Lilu Weisberger, a trans boy at Shepherd Middle School who is friends with the girl singled out by Georgas. As soon as he announced “I’m here tonight to speak for my friend,” he received a standing ovation from the crowd.
“We’re fighting for our right to exist, and to exist alongside our peers. Separate is never equal,” Weisberger said. “It is hard enough getting through the day, doing homework and dealing with messy friendships without being pawns in a political agenda.”
Read the full article here
