Hundreds gathered Thursday night at Deerfield Public Schools District 109’s board meeting to voice support for a trans student after the suburban district came under federal inquiry for alleged Title IX violations.
A small group with Moms for Liberty Lake County — a local chapter of the national organization that has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center — voiced opposition.
A line stretched outside and wrapped around one side of the building more than half an hour after the meeting began. The crowd inside and outside held signs in support of trans rights and pride flags, with cheers from outside audible in the quieter moments after speakers finished.
The meeting was the first held by the school district since the U.S. Department of Education announced it was opening an investigation into the district and Chicago Public Schools last month for alleged Title IX violations. It came after conservative groups filed a complaint about transgender students being allowed to change in locker rooms that line up with their gender identities. Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs that receive federal funding.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
The Education Department’s announcement cited north suburban Deerfield parent Nicole Georgas’ complaint against the school saying her cisgender daughter shouldn’t have to share a locker room with a transgender girl. The transgender student was said to have changed in the girls’ locker room. Georgas said that, as a result, her daughter refused to change there.
The announcement included Georgas’ claim that students were “forced” to change in the locker room with the transgender student.
In a statement, the district said it “strongly refute[s] the patently false allegations” by Georgas and said it is “committed to obeying the law.” Illinois law prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, requiring schools to protect transgender students’ right to use restrooms and facilities that match their gender identity.
The statement also said five private, gender-neutral changing rooms were added to each locker room when the school was renovated in 2017.
“Current laws mandate that students must be permitted access to the locker room and bathroom that aligns with their gender identity,” a statement from the district said.
“The administration and the board are united with our leaders and educators on this issue. … We are following the law.”
Several residents spoke on behalf of the families of trans children who feared their identities being revealed at the two-hour-plus meeting.
Lilu Weisberger, a transgender boy at Shepherd Middle School who is friends with the girl who was targeted by Georgas, said being thrust into the national spotlight has made middle school more difficult than it already is for trans kids.
“I’m here tonight to speak for my friend,” he said to a standing ovation. “We’re fighting for our right to exist, and to exist alongside our peers. Separate is never equal. … It is hard enough getting through the day, doing homework and dealing with messy friendships without being pawns in a political agenda.”
Christine H., a mother of three who graduated from the district and is a teacher in a nearby district, voiced her support for District 109’s adherence to state laws in the face of the federal inquiries.
“What we can’t do is settle for lies or false accusations, or cower to bullies in our town or at large,” said Christine, who didn’t want to give her full last name. “I’m heartbroken and furious that any child from our community could become the subject of a publicity stunt and the target of bullying.”
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Judy Benson, a mom of a seventh grader who attends a school in the district, spoke out against the district policy allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. She said it was “insane” the school didn’t have a “transition plan” to acclimate students to the policy, which has been in place for several years.
“My daughter is a victim. District 109 forced policy over privacy,” Benson said. She also claimed that transgender students were given more time to change than cisgdender students, which said wasn’t “equity” but “a time heist.”
A few members of Moms for Liberty also spoke and criticized the district.
Chicago’s Human Rights Ordinance requires all public and private facilities in the city to allow people to use facilities that line up with their gender identity.
On Thursday, another conservative nonprofit, America First Legal — a nonprofit founded by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller in 2021, which aims to work against the “lawless radical left” — announced it had filed a complaint with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, urging it to conduct a criminal investigation into District 109 over what Georgas alleged happened. Georgas previously said she filed a claim with the justice department as well.
