Schools
ACLU to File Motion to Derail Lawsuit Over D211's Transgender Locker Room Policy
The state chapter hopes to stop "this attempt to turn back the clock and re-install discrimination in the District 211 schools."
The Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is advancing to the front lines again in the legal battle surrounding Township High School District 211's policy to allow a Fremd High School transgender student to use her school's girls locker room.
Last week, Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based conservative Christian group, filed a lawsuit on behalf of 51 Palatine-area families against the school district and two federal agencies, claiming a 2015 agreement between those groups to allow a transgender student open access to opposite sex restrooms and locker rooms disregarded the privacy and safety of other students.
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Find out what's happening in Palatinefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
- 51 Families Sue Palatine District 211 Over Transgender Student's Locker Room Use
- District 211 Sticks to Agreement in Transgender Case
- District 211 Reaches Settlement With Feds in Transgender Case
- District 211: Transgender Student Not Allowed Open Acess to Locker Room
- Local Residents Sound Off on District 211 Decision
- UPDATE: District 211 Transgender Case Making National News
- Mother of Transgender Student Who Was Denied Access to Locker Room Speaks Out
- Fremd Student Starts Petition in Favor of Allowing Transgender Students Access to Locker Room
Now, the ACLU plans to file its own motion with the court on behalf of opposing D211 parents and students in order "to defeat this attempt to turn back the clock and re-install discrimination in the District 211 schools," Ed Yohnka, the group's communication and public policy director, said in a statement released Tuesday.
"We remain confident that fairness for students who are transgender will prevail," he added.
Find out what's happening in Palatinefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
No timeline was given as to when the ACLU will file its motion.
RELATED: Read the Full Lawsuit Filed Last Week by the Alliance Defending Freedom
The ACLU represented the Fremd student in her original case last fall that fought for her right to use the girls locker room. That led an eventual agreement in December 2015 between the D211 and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights that stipulated that the student would be given a private area in the locker room but not be allowed open access.
The DOE, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, are named in the Alliance Defending Freedom's lawsuit along with D211.
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