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 The student, who has not been named, and the American Civil
Liberties Union, which brought a complaint on her behalf, applauded
the findings, while the school district called them "serious
overreach."
After an investigation stemming from a 2013 complaint by the ACLU,
and months of negotiations, the U.S. Department of Education's
Office for Civil Rights found Township High School District 211 was
violating federal non-discrimination rules.
The district says transgender students may use their
gender-identified locker room if they change and shower privately.
The government said a separate changing place was discriminatory
because it subjected the student to stigma and different treatment.
The case is seen as clarifying federal rules on locker-room access
at a time of expanding awareness of transgender issues.
 In mid-October the school district, with five high schools and two
alternative high schools west of Chicago, defied the government,
continuing to deny full locker-room access for the transgendered
student.
Assistant U.S. Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon said the
high school was disobeying the law. "All students deserve the
opportunity to participate equally in school programs and activities
– this is a basic civil right," she said in a statement.
"This decision makes me extremely happy – because of what it means
for me, personally, and for countless others," the student said in a
statement released by the ACLU. "The district's policy stigmatized
me, often making me feel like I was not a 'normal person.'"
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The school district said the issue was critical for schools
nationwide. Superintendent Daniel Cates said in a statement that
"what we offer is reasonable and honors every student's dignity."
Last year, the district received $6 million in federal money
contingent on compliance with non-discrimination rules.
The student in the case has identified as female for years; the
school lists her as a female student and she plays on the girls'
sports teams and uses girls' restrooms.
The school district has provided the student with a separate
changing facility outside the locker room and installed privacy
curtains on stalls in one locker room out of the three that she uses
for physical education, swimming and athletics programs, according
to the federal government's findings.
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