Illinois families fight transgender
access to school locker room
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[August 16, 2016]
By Fiona Ortiz
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A lawyer for dozens of
families from a suburban Chicago high school district argued in court on
Monday that students' privacy was being violated at a school that
allowed a transgender girl access to the girls' locker room under an
agreement with the federal government.
A group of 63 students and 73 parents from Township High School District
211 challenged the agreement in federal court and is seeking a
preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement.
Lawyers for the district, the U.S. Department of Education and the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argued that no one is harmed by
the policy, which was agreed to last September after the ACLU filed a
complaint in 2013 on behalf of a transgender student who was born male
and identifies as female.
Similar battles are playing out around the country as the Department of
Education has told public schools that transgender students must be
allowed to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.
Texas and a dozen other states asked a U.S. judge last week to block the
Obama administration's guidance in the matter, saying it usurps the
authority of school districts.
In Chicago, U.S. District Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert said he would
issue a recommendation in the matter after he reviews all materials.
Judge Jorge Alonso will make the decision on an injunction based on
Gilbert's recommendation.
Sheila Lieber, an attorney who represents the Department of Education,
argued in court at the hearing: "They have pointed to not one single
student who has been harmed." The hearing coincided with the first day
of school in District 211, which serves Chicago's northwestern suburbs
of Hoffman Estates, Palatine and Schaumburg, among others.
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A sign points at the WC restrooms in Troisdorf near Bonn, western
Germany. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
Lieber said the school has made curtained stalls available to girls
who wanted more privacy in the locker room, but that no one uses
them, which she said shows that students are not concerned about the
transgender girl's presence.
Jeremy Tedesco, a lawyer with the Alliance Defending Freedom
conservative group that represents the families, argued that girls
who use the locker room feel fear over the possibility that someone
born male could see them undressing. He said girls may not be using
the private stalls because of an atmosphere at the school of
harassment against people who do not agree with the policy.
"It's a violation of girls' right to privacy to have a male student
in the locker room," Tedesco told reporters after the hearing.
(Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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