Naperville D203 board meeting packed with supporters/opponents of transgender student athletes

Chicago Tribune

3 days ago

For the second time in a month, a Naperville District 203 School Board meeting was packed by people supporting and opposed to a transgender student athlete's right to participate in a girl's track meet.
For nearly 90 minutes Monday, attendees debated the rights of students to participate in school sports aligned with their chosen gender following a junior high school track meet at which a transgender student reportedly raced alongside girls and won some of the events.
Awake Illinois filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights alleging the district violated Title IX safeguards for 'engaging in sex-based discrimination within education programs or activities that receive federal funding.'
Members of Awake Illinois and their supporters Monday held bright yellow signs with such messages as 'Stop Exploiting Kids,' 'Freeze Federal Funds' and 'Defend Title IX,' and argued that allowing trans students to participate in girls' sports harms female athletes and their access to fair competition.
Shannon Adcock, a Naperville resident who founded Awake Illinois, said the U.S. Department of Education announced it is recognizing June as Title IX Month in honor of the the 53rd anniversary of the law.
Title IX provides women protections on the basis of sex in all educational activities, including their rights to equal opportunity in sports and sex-segregated intimate spaces, according to a news release Monday from the U.S. Department of Education.
'Throughout the month (of June), the department will highlight actions taken to reverse the Biden administration's legacy of undermining Title IX and announce additional actions to protect women in line with the true purpose of Title IX,' the release said.
June is also Pride Month, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community.
LGBTQ+ supporters, who waved transgender rights flags and carried signs promoting inclusion, told the school board that excluding trans girls hurts an already marginalized community, who are at a greater risk for violence, sexual assault and suicide.
'Nobody voluntarily signs up to be bullied to the level that trans students are by both other children and adults,' said Charlee Friedman, director of operations for Trans Up Front, adding that families in the district asked for the organization's support to advocate for their children.
Friedman said 21 trans children in Illinois have committed suicide this year. Bullying 'has become so emboldened since the Trump administration,' she said.
'We are here to protect children, to protect their lives,' Friedman said.
Several speakers denounced Awake Illinois for spreading videos of the track meet and the minor student's image on social media.
Derek Miller said he was disappointed by the behavior of some adults in the community.
'There were adults sharing photos, videos and the name of this student at the center of the controversy, and this is a child,' he said. '… I want to emphasize these are children who are being attacked.'
While he understands points on both sides of the issue, some might be promoting the issue in order to 'go viral' or to appear on cable news stations, Miller said.
'That is disgusting, and it needs to stop,' he said. 'Our kids should not be treated as political pawns.'
'They outed, targeted and doxxed a transgender girl in your district … all because she ran in a track meet and won,' Peter Rivera said. 'Some parents were upset and instead of dealing with it privately like adults, they handed the child over to a hate group. There are good faith arguments about integrating trans athletes in their sports, but this wasn't a discussion. This was a smear campaign, a lynching, a coordinated effort to shame and endanger a teenager.'
Diana Piedra said it was shameful Awake Illinois shared videos of the athlete.
'The only way to fight hate is with love,' she said.
Other speakers Monday said girls' rights were being infringed by allowing trans athletes to participate in their sports.
'Most of America believes girls sports should be protected,' Adcock said. '… Boys sports. Girls sports. It is that simple.'
Laura Hois, a Naperville Central graduate and co-chair of the Downers Grove chapter of Awake Illinois, said 'boys are boys and pretending they are girls is a lie.'
Trans rights does not supersede the rights of female athletes,' Hois said.
'I think it's terribly sad and tragic that today this District 203 is allowing boys to intrude in girls sports,' she said. 'District 203 is subjecting itself to liability for violation of girls' constitutional rights, for violation of civil rights laws, for violation of Title IX and violation of common sense.'
Some speakers said just because someone was born male doesn't mean they have an automatic physical advantage over girls.
'Exclusion invites gender policing that could subject any girl to invasive tests or accusations of being too masculine or too good at her sport … to be a 'real girl,'' Tim Rhodes said. 'Trans athletes and cis gender athletes all vary in ability as do we all.'