High School District 211
High School District 211 in Palatine, Ill., may agree to settle a discrimination complaint brought by a transgender suit.
High School District 211 in Palatine, Ill., may agree to settle a discrimination complaint brought by a transgender suit.
High School District 211 in Palatine, Ill., may agree to settle a discrimination complaint brought by a transgender suit.
High School District 211 in Palatine, Ill., may agree to settle a discrimination complaint brought by a transgender suit.
High School District 211 in Palatine, Ill., may agree to settle a discrimination complaint brought by a transgender suit.

Illinois district settles transgender discrimination case

Dec. 3, 2015
Under agreement with federal agency, transgender student in High School District 211 will continue to use a private changing area in the girls's locker room.

A transgender student in an Illinois high school will continue to use a separate changing area within a girls locker room, under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights.

The Daily Herald reports that the agreement approved by the School District 211 Board in Palatine, Ill., generally upholds the position the school district has been maintaining throughout the dispute.

"Consistent with our stated position throughout this matter, if the transgender student seeks access to the locker room, the student will not be granted unrestricted access and will utilize a private changing station whenever changing clothes or showering," District Superintendent Daniel Cates said in a prepared statement after the board action. "The measures we have proposed for our locker rooms protect student privacy. Every school district with whom we consulted that has supported access to locker rooms by transgender students has also effectively utilized similar individual privacy measures."

The agreement pertains only to the specific student in the complaint and is not adopted as district-wide policy, Cates emphasized.

Read the agreement.

EARLIER: High School District 211 in Palatine, Ill., is considering a settlement in the case of a transgender student seeking unfettered use of the girls' locker room.

The Chicago Tribune reports that on the eve of a deadline for reaching a compromise with federal authorities before facing enforcement, the school board has scheduled a special meeting to vote on a proposed agreement.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) concluded last month that the district violated federal law by barring a transgender student who identifies as female from having full access to the girls' locker room.

The OCR gave the district 30 days to reach an agreement or risk the loss of its federal educational funding. Last year, the district received $6 million in Title IX money.

In deciding to deny the transgender student full access, the district acknowledged that its stance could be costly. Officials say their decision rejecting the federal directive is motivated by a desire to ensure the privacy of other students using the locker room.

Neither the student nor the school she was attending has been identified. District 211 has more than 12,000 students in five high school--two in Palatine, two in Hoffman Estates and one in Schaumburg.

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