That led to a settlement with the student that granted her access.
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A federal judge on Monday said he’s holding off on deciding whether to temporarily ban a transgender student from using the girls’ locker room and restroom at a suburban Chicago high school.
The injunction request stems from a lawsuit filed by conservative groups on behalf of dozens of parents of students at Palatine-based Township High School District 211 in a Chicago suburb.
The Education Department on Monday released a copy of a letter to Township High School District 211 in Palatine from the department’s Office of Civil Rights in a case that has drawn a national spotlight due to implications for schools nationwide.
A federal judge, on August 15, heard oral arguments as to whether a transgender girl who previous year won the right to use the locker room facilities in her Northwest suburban high school can continue to do so while parents and right-wing activists mount a legal challenge.
The lawsuit claims several female students are afraid “that a biological boy will walk in at any time while they use the locker rooms and showers and see them in a state of undress or naked”.
“Title IX does not define “sex” and the Department of Education is not required to adhere to plaintiffs” one-dimensional definition of “sex, ‘” Lieber said.
Tedesco said this case is particularly important among the lawsuits involving the fight between transgender and privacy rights because it’s “the only case that has parents and students as plaintiffs’ resisting what the federal government has done”.
“The exact same factors that a court looks at for whether it will grant a preliminary injunction are the same factors the Supreme Court looks at to decide whether to issue a stay and recall the mandate”, he said.
“They’ve not come up with one example of concrete harm, let alone as to why they need relief now”, Lieber said. 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.
“There are no facts that would suggest a court needs to intervene and substitute its judgement for that of the school district”, added Michael Warner, an attorney for District 211.
Jeremy Tedesco, a lawyer for Students and Parents for Privacy, told the judge the transgender student referred in court as “Student A” is male, and he said his clients have a right to use a locker room “free of a male student”.
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