High School District 211 protects student privacy over Office of Civil Rights mandate

PALATINE, Ill., Oct. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- A transgender* District 211 high school student and the student's family filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education, seeking unrestricted access to the locker room.  

The District has taken great care and provided thoughtful review in considering this issue. As secondary education professionals, District 211 teachers and administrators have responsibility for supporting all students with their development amid circumstances and demands that are both complex and non-stop in today's world. The District is sensitive to the challenges facing transgender youth, and recognizes the strength and courage it takes to come forward to school officials and others as they convey their gender identity to the school community.

After serious and lengthy consideration, the District will continue to provide private accommodations for transgender students to ensure a respectful school environment, and will not allow unrestricted access to its locker rooms as directed by OCR. The goal of the District in this matter is to protect the privacy rights of all students when changing clothes or showering before or after physical education and after-school activities, while also providing accommodations necessary to meet the unique needs of individual students.  The District's responsibility is to provide an environment conducive to learning for all of its 12,000+ students. 

District 211 has supported — and continues to support — transgender students and their families, while always balancing the rights and concerns of all the students it serves. Transgender students who don't want separate private accommodations are allowed to use restrooms in accordance with their gender identity, as there are private stalls available. They also can participate on sex-identified sports teams, consistent with Illinois High School Association policy, and are provided with private changing areas, both during the regular school day and while participating in after-school activities or athletic events.  In all instances, transgender students have access to a support team with extensive training in addressing the identity development needs of adolescents. This support team, in partnership with students and parents, works through the options available for sex-specific facilities, as well as name and gender references on school rosters.

The OCR has taken the position that the District's decision not to allow unrestricted access to the locker room is inadequate and discriminatory.  The OCR has directed that transgender students should have full access to sex-specific locker rooms for changing during physical education classes and after-school activities.  Likely litigation and enforcement action, including the potential loss of federal education funds, may be imposed by the OCR. 

District 211 has provided individual accommodations in a manner that does not infringe on the privacy concerns of other students, and it will continue to do so. It is the District's position that OCR's unilateral mandate does not consider the best interests of all District 211 students and their families.

*A transgender student is a student who consistently and uniformly asserts a gender identity different from the student's assigned sex, or for which there is documented legal or medical evidence that the gender identity is sincerely held as part of the student's core identity.

SOURCE High School District 211