Schools
Judge Delays Ruling on Temporary Ban on District 211's Transgender Locker Room Access
No timetable was given Monday on when a decision will be made.
PALATINE, IL —With the school year starting Monday for Township High School District 211, a federal judge delayed making a decision on whether to strike down the district's policy that allows a transgender student open access to girls' restrooms and locker rooms at Fremd High School, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The judge announced holding off on a ruling during a hearing Monday, Aug. 15, for a lawsuit against the district and two federal agencies brought by a conservative Christian group representing more than 50 Palatine-area families. The suit, which was filed by the group Students and Parents for Privacy in May, claims that the defendants disregarded the privacy and safety of the other students at the school by instituting the open access policy.
The group wanted the judge to temporarily ban the district's policy while its lawsuit made its way through the court system. The open access policy was put in place last year as part of an agreement between the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights and District 211 to allow a Fremd High School transgender student—known as Student A—to use the school's girls' locker room.
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More Coverage on Patch
- Letter Asks D211 to Give Transgender Students Open Access to Locker Rooms
- 'Student A' Enters Current Legal Fray Over D211 Transgender Policy
- 51 Families Sue Palatine District 211 Over Transgender Student's Locker Room Use
No timetable was given for when the U.S. magistrate judge will pass along his recommendations about a possible ban to the judge presiding over the lawsuit.
Find out what's happening in Palatinefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In June, a judge ruled that the American Civil Liberties Union can intervene in the lawsuit by Students and Parents for Privacy on behalf of Student A and two younger transgender students who attend District 211 feeder school districts. The judge rejected the group's argument that including the transgender students would unnecessarily complicate the case.
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