A federal judge, on Aug. 15, heard oral arguments as to whether a transgender girl who last year won the right to use the locker room facilities in her Northwest suburban high school can continue to do so while parents and right-wing activists mount a legal challenge.
Plaintiffs in the case, heard by U.S. District Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert, asked for a preliminary injunction to stop Student A, who, in 2015, won the right in Township High School District 211 to use the school facilities of the gender for which she identifies, from using the girls' locker room while courts hear the lawsuit, which was filed in May 2016.
A group of students and parents calling themselves Students and Parents for Privacy ( SPP ) filed the suit with aid from two conservative legal organizations, Alliance Defending Freedom and Thomas More Society. It names the Departments of Education and Justice, Education Secretary John B. King, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Township High School District 211, Cook County and the state of Illinois as defendants.
Student A, along with two other transgender students, is represented as an intervening defendant by ACLU of Illinois. Illinois Safe Schools Alliance also asked to intervene in the case.
Plaintiffs argued that the 2015 determination from federal authorities, which they characterized as a hodgepodge of regulation, constituted a governmental overreach that did not reflect societal or constitutional norms. After that determination, the district settled the matter with the government.
Attorney Jeremy Tedesco of Alliance Defending Freedom said that the determination ultimately violated the privacy of students uncomfortable with having a trans student in the locker room as well.
"The personal notion of privacy … also falls apart when you exchange an objective definition of sex with a subjective definition of sex," Tedesco said.
Defendant attorneys argued that there had been no incidents where any students had reported harm because of the new arrangement that permitted Student A in the girls' locker room.
"There is documented harm to Student A," said Sheila Leiber, deputy director at the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, arguing on behalf of the federal government. "There is no documented harm to any other student here."
Leiber added that the government was within its duties by releasing updated interpretations of Title IX policy.
"There are no facts that would suggest a court needs to intervene and substitute its judgement for that of the school district," added Michael Warner, an attorney for District 211.
ACLU of Illinois' John Knight said that the plaintiffs were operating with a narrow definition of sex and gender identity and were singling out transgender students, excluding them from full participation in school activities.
"They said they would like to force exclusion of the transgender students, and that's not what Title IX is all about," Knight added.
At a press conference following the hearing, Illinois Safe School Alliance Executive Director Owen Daniel-McCarter noted that Chicago Public Schools and other districts had done extensive work in ensuring the safety and well-being of transgender pupils.
"It's important to look to them for best practices in this kind of situation," he said.
Tracey Salvatore, a parent with children in District 211 feeder schools, also spoke at the conference, to reiterate that many parents in the community supported the transgender students.
Gilbert will make a recommendation about the motion to Judge Jorge Alonso, who is overseeing the litigation.