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Chicago Tribune
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Hundreds crowd Deerfield school board meeting over transgender student dispute
Deerfield Public Schools District 109's board meeting Thursday, which had been moved to the Caruso Middle School auditorium to accommodate the expected large crowd, was quickly filled with hundreds of people. That followed the announcement earlier this week by American First Legal, a conservative nonprofit, that it had filed a complaint with the criminal section of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division urging it to investigate District 109 and its administrators over an alleged incident of female students at Shepard Middle School being forced by staffers to change in front of a transgender girl, an allegation the district has denied. All 200 seats were filled, and the crowd also lined the back wall and out the front door. Rainbow and trans flags could be seen sprinkled throughout the crowd, along with a dozen or so Moms for Liberty shirts. Despite it not being an item on the agenda, the controversy was the subject of more than two hours of public comments from residents and nonresidents of the district. There was far more support voiced at the meeting for the school board and the unidentified transgender student than for those on the other side of the controversy. After pro-trans speakers finished talking, cheers could be heard from outside on a slight delay as attendees watched via a livestream. Several speakers read statements they said had been written by parents who were afraid to speak publicly, such as those with transgender or gender nonconforming children. Parents questioned the authenticity of the allegations, while others criticized what they characterized as bullying against the trans community. One of the speakers was 14-year-old transgender student Lilu Weisberger, a classmate of the student at the center of the complaint. He said he chose to attend after learning that Moms for Liberty would be in attendance. 'I am here tonight to speak for my friend,' Weisberger said. 'I am here tonight to defend dignity for all students and I appear to, unfortunately, have to entertain the idea that my community and my identity is not welcome in our school.' He emphasized empathy as his friend is at the center of 'national scrutiny,' and being used as 'an excuse to push a political agenda.' The controversy drew national attention after Nicole Georgas, a mother of one of the students allegedly forced to change in front of a transgender student, went on Fox News with her allegations and criticized the district. There were also some firebrand anti-trans speakers, such as Wheaton College student Hannah Lape, a member of the Christian conservative group Young Women for America, who railed against what she described as 'sexual abuse' and the 'adult fantasy' of 'transgenderism.' In a statement signed by Superintendent of Schools Mike Simeck and school board President Sari Montgomery, the district said it 'strongly' disputed the 'patently false allegations' of students being forced to change in front of administrators or others. It also again insisted the district's policies and procedures were in full compliance with current local, state and federal laws. 'We recognize the intense reaction by advocates from both within and outside our community, and we are committed to communicating factually and transparently,' the statement said. Federal Title IX and the Illinois Human Rights Act prohibit all public school districts from discriminating on the basis of sex, including gender identity, the statement said, and current laws mandate that students must be permitted access to the locker room and bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. 'We are following the law,' the district said. The statement said the district was 'sensitive to the privacy needs' of all students. When their two middle schools were renovated in 2017, five private changing rooms were added in each locker room and made available to all students to, 'ensure that no student is required to change into a gym uniform for physical education class in front of others.' 'All students also have multiple options to change in a private location separate from the locker room if they wish,' the statement said. According to the statement, this week the district responded to a data request from federal officials for information regarding the district's policies, procedures and practices related to student locker room and restroom use. The district administration and the board 'stand united with our building leaders and educators in a shared commitment to upholding all applicable local, state, and federal laws,' the statement said. 'We will vigorously support administrators and staff every step of the way.' The district is pursuing 'all avenues to defend against the egregious and false claims being alleged,' and condemned the, 'unjustified threats that have been directed at school administrators since the false allegations first surfaced in February. No one should be targeted on social media or elsewhere for obeying the law.' 'The District is committed to serving all of its students and continues to do so with the utmost care and professionalism,' the statement said. 'We call upon all of those expressing concerns or perspectives on this issue with our staff and educators to do so in a respectful and civil manner.' Kristal Larson, executive director of the LGBTQ+ Center Lake County, Avon Township's clerk and a transgender woman, was happy with the 'outpouring of support' she'd seen during the meeting. Deerfield was 'in a good place,' she said. She criticized the allegations being made against the district, calling them a 'narrative of falsehoods.' '(District officials) vehemently deny any of these allegations, and I'm proud of the fact they're standing up for their students and their school, their community, against what has become a very national platform of hate,' Larson said.' Moms for Liberty Lake County chair Marsha McClary said there was 'a lot of misinformation in the community' about the incident that 'needed to be corrected,' and she praised the complaint filed by the AFL. 'There's obviously a lot of passionate parents here, and we have actually a lot of common goals,' McClary said. 'We want the kids to be all treated with respect and have privacy and safety. I think, though, the district and the state can do better.'
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Deerfield parents weigh in on allegations that students were forced to change in front of transgender student
DEERFIELD, Ill. (WGN) — A school board meeting in the north suburbs drew mixed reactions from parents Thursday as they weighed in on allegations that some middle school students were forced to change clothes in the presence of a transgender student. Some parents of students at Deerfield Public School District 109 who voiced their concerns on Thursday night felt that young girls were being robbed of their privacy, while others said they felt transgender students deserved to feel sa 'Can you imagine being 12 or 13 years old in your school that you're in charge of, and be forced to undress?' one commentator said during the meeting. 'I don't think any of you would be very comfortable at all. I am here to support all of the girls in that class who were subjected to this outrageous violation.' Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines A conservative group is now asking the US Department of Justice to file criminal charges against Deerfield School District 109 in connection with the allegations. Back in March, the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights announced that it was investigating after a mother filed a civil rights complaint. Female students at Alan B Shepard Middle School reportedly complained to school administrators about a male who was using their locker room to change for gym class. The next day, school administrators reportedly scolded the female students for refusing to dress in front of the male trans student. According to the complaint with the Office of Civil Rights, an administrator told the female students that the male trans student was allowed to use female intimate facilities if the student identified as female. The goal of the investigation is to determine if the allegations violated Title IX by requiring girls in school to share their locker room with a biological male. Others who spoke during the meeting voiced support for the transgender student, one speaker even called the controversy surrounding the allegations a 'publicity stunt.' 'What we cannot do is settle for lies or false accusations we can not cower to any bullies in our community or at large. Our students are safest because District 190 follows constitutional and state laws and provides facilities to protect our most marginalized students as equally as any other students. I am both heartbroken and furious to know that any child from our community could become the subject of a publicity stunt, a target for bullies of any age,' another speaker said during public comment. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland 'I am here tonight to speak for my friend, the trans-gender girl in question here. I am here tonight to defend dignity for all students and I am here to unfortunately entertain the idea that my community and my identity is not welcome in our school,' 8th-grade student Lilu Weisberger said during Thursday's meeting. In a statement addressing the allegations, a district spokesperson said that students do not have to change in front of others and can choose to change privately. 'No student is required to change into a gym uniform for physical education class in front of others in locker rooms. All students in the middle schools have multiple options to change in a private location if they wish,' a district spokesperson said. At last check, the district said it has not been notified of an investigation and no criminal charges have been filed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
