Chicago-area school district might settle transgender student case

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/schaumburg-hoffman-estates/news/ct-transgender-student-district-211-update-met-20151201-story.html

Chicago Tribune
By Duaa Eldeib Contact Reporter
December 2, 2015 6:02 AM

The state's largest high school district is considering a settlement in the case of a transgender student seeking unfettered use of the girls' locker room.

Palatine-based Township High School District 211 has scheduled a special board meeting to vote on a proposed agreement Wednesday — the last day for the district to reach a compromise with federal authorities before facing enforcement, which could include the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding.
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This could be significant. If the District caves in set aside areas other school districts may not be sufficient pro-active policy implementation. If question will be if transgender students are required to use set aside areas in their identifying gender locker room or will it be an option. Either way, the issue that will remain is not access but anatomical. Will parents of cis-gender students see this as federal overreach? This could be a great victory but with substantial cost. Will cis-gender students and parents now see transgender students as intractable in demands for equality and cause a backlash against transgender people in general? 

Let's see if this District settles and the feds compromise and what will become of the millions of dollars of education funds at risk. Keep your eyes on this one.

I'm eager to hear how this one turns out. Keep us posted...

And the outcome is:

Illinois School Will Accommodate Trans Student, Settling Landmark Case


http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/12/03/illinois-school-will-accommodate-trans-student-settling-landmark-case

The Advocate.com
By Trudy Ring
December 03 2015 10:20 PM EST

A school district in the Chicago suburbs has agreed to provide a transgender girl access to the girls' locker room, resolving a complaint the student had brought against it with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, winning a landmark ruling from the department.

The Township High School District 211 board in Palatine agreed to the move early Thursday morning in a meeting that had stretched from the night before, with many parents speaking in opposition to the action and a smaller number in support, the Chicago Tribune reports.
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The Final Answer is: The School Board will Uphold the Agreement they came to with Federal authorities.

Transgender Student at Center of Illinois School Locker Room Debate Speaks Out


http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/12/10/transgender-student-center-illinois-school-locker-room-debate-speaks-out

The Advocate.com
By Dawn Ennis
December 10 2015 10:45 PM EST

A two-year fight over the request by a transgender high school student  in Palatine, Ill., to use the girls' locker room is finally over, reports the Chicago Tribune. Despite lingering opposition that drew hundreds to a loud and angry public meeting this week, officals at Township High School District 211 opted to keep a deal with federal authorities rather than walk away and start over.

"I never wanted to this to be a public issue," the unidentified student said in a statement released by her lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. "I really want to thank everyone who has supported me throughout this process. My parents have been great. Other students have been so supportive."
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Quote from: traci_k on December 11, 2015, 07:09:01 AM
"I never wanted to this to be a public issue," the unidentified student said in a statement released by her lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.

It's sobering how much we owe people like her, who are willing to give up their privacy to fight for their rights and ours.