Reader Remarks: D211 Transgender Locker Room Access Ruling

PALATINE, IL — Less than a week after the Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board of education voted in favor of giving transgender students unrestricted access to locker rooms and restrooms, Patch readers in Palatine and across the Chicago area are sharing their thoughts on the board's recent 5-2 vote.

The issue dates back to 2015 when a transgender student who identified as a girl, known as "Student A," wanted full access to the girls' locker room, but whose request was turned down. Soon came a 2015 lawsuit against the district that made national news. The unidentified student said she was denied access to the locker room at Fremd High School in a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

In November 2015, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights determined School District 211 was breaking the law by not allowing a transgender student full access to the girls' locker room. The decision, education officials said, was the first of its kind regarding the rights of transgender students, the New York Times reports.

Patch reached out to local readers, asking if they anticipated Thursday night's outcome, and their thoughts on the board's decision. As of Tuesday (less than a week since the decision was made), the reactions were quite mixed. They are as follows:

A response from a Palatine Patch neighbor under the (alias) name "Wingding" included, "I am tired of having this stuffed up my nose," and insinuated a need for removing members of the board who voted "for this."

On a different note, Patch Palatine neighbor Steven R. Chesser (SRC) wrote he likes the decision, writing, "There are many Transgender kids in the world. They are all human beings. This is the first step they had to start some were. It is a great start I hope things start to turn around all over our Country. If you have Love in your heart and soul (SIC). That is the problem in the world to many people have Hatred in there Heart but most don't know why."

Chesser added that he is "very different from others as well as hundreds of thousand of people," and that this (vote) isn't only for transgender people, but for everyone who is different, noting people with disabilities, people with special needs, black, brown, Jewish, Muslim and more groups.

He also encourages everyone to say "Hi," and smile when you see someone who looks different, and ask them if they need help, as it shouldn't be "this hard."

Neighbor Mike Herron doesn't agree with the ruling, or most of what Chesser wrote.

"If I had a daughter in one of these schools, I would be more completely against it (SIC). I read SRC’s comments, and I disagree with his reasoning as well," Herron wrote. He also called it "unreasonable" on Chesser's end to lump those groups together, "since none of the former include difference of sexual orientation."

"I would disagree with the board's decision for all levels of school, but mainly at the middle school and high school "levels," Herron also said, adding that like it or not, "kids at that age are noticing all other kids– especially if they are in various degrees of undress." >> Read Chesser's response to Herron.

More than four-dozen Facebook comments have been posted under news of Thursday's vote on the Palatine Patch Facebook page, including one written by Facebook user Julie Hartfelder Costigan.

"Seriously people there are more important issues to stress over! I feel like there are a lot of people that are not educated on the topic of Transgender individuals," Costigan stated.

(>> read entire comment by Costigan)

A Look at the legal action surrounding District 211:

Late 2013: A transgender student at Fremd High School — identified only as Student A in court documents — filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights against District 211, claiming the school system violated federal Title IX gender-based discrimination laws by not allowing unrestricted access to the girls' locker room.

November 2015: Following a two-year investigation, the OCR under President Barack Obama's administration ruled that District 211 had not complied with federal Title IX guidelines in Student A's case. Under Title IX, schools are required to provide transgender students full access to the locker room they identify with.

At the time under the Obama administration, Title IX violations mean districts could lose federal funding for at-risk students and face federal litigation

December 2015: The Education Department and District 211 reach a settlement concerning Student A and the school system's policy concerning transgender students. By a 5-2 margin, the school board voted to provide a separate changing area in the girls' locker room for Student A. Although the decision complies with Title IX guidelines, it goes against Student A's request for full access.

May 2016: More than 50 Palatine-area families represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based conservative Christian group sues District 211, as well as the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education under the Obama administration. The complaint argues that the Education Department inaccurately interprets and illegally redefines federal law under Title IX and disregards the privacy and safety of other students.

Following the lawsuit by the families, the ACLU filed a motion on behalf of Student A and two transgender students from District 211 feeder schools to intervene and fight the lawsuit against the school system. At the time, Student A was attending gym class in street clothes and no longer changing in Fremd's girls' locker room because of the attention from the legal actions.

June 2016: An open letter by 29 District 211 parents and students is published to encourage open access for students to all school bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.

May 2017: Student A graduates from Fremd. Later in December 2017, Maday, then 18, files her lawsuit against the district, claiming she was not given access to the girls' locker room at Palatine and was required to change in a nurse's office or other area.

January 2018: A federal judge denies the ADF's preliminary injunction against the district that would have prevented transgender students from using the locker rooms and bathrooms of the genders they identify with while the case made its way through the courts.

Later in the month, a Cook County judge denies Maday's request for an injunction against the district for not allowing her full access to the girls' locker room at the Palatine High School.

February 2018: Maday appeals the judge's decision to deny the injunction.

April 2019: The federal lawsuit filed a few years ago by a group of parents and students against Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 over policies allowing a transgender student partial access to a girls' locker room is dropped.

September 2019: A judge denied a motion filed by District 211 to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Nova Maday, a former transgender student who was born male but identifies as a female and has been fighting since 2017 to allow the district's transgender students full access to its locker rooms.

District 211 officials also discuss a measure to allow transgender students to change in the locker rooms of the gender they identify with, which culminates with the Nov. 14 vote.

More Coverage on Patch:

• Transgender Students Win Locker Room Access In Palatine, Schaumburg High Schools
• D211 Could Vote Thursday On Locker Room Policy
• Discussion Continues on District 211 Locker Room Policy
• The Menace Of Bullying: What District 211 Parents Are Saying
  
• Transgender Locker Room Policy Lawsuit Against School Dropped
• 51 Families Sue Palatine District 211 Over Transgender Student's Locker Room Use (UPDATED)
• Palatine Transgender Student To Appeal Locker Room Access Ruling
• Transgender Girl Denied Unrestricted Locker Room Access By Court
• Transgender Student Sues District 211 For Locker Room Access
• 'Student A' Enters Current Legal Fray Over D211 Transgender Policy
• ACLU to File Motion to Derail Lawsuit Over D211's Transgender Locker Room Policy
• 51 Families Sue Palatine District 211 Over Transgender Student's Locker Room Use
• District 211 Reaches Settlement With Feds in Transgender Case
• District 211: Transgender Student Not Allowed Open Access to Locker Room

>> More information via District 211