The US Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division launched investigations into 36 Illinois public school districts to determine whether they have included sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI) content in any class for grades pre-K-12.

Local this investigation includes Leyden High School District 212, as well as Elmwood Park High School.

If they are teaching SOGI-related content, the investigations will examine whether the schools have notified parents of their right to opt their children out of such instruction. The investigation will also assess whether the Illinois School Districts limit access to single-sex intimate spaces (such as bathrooms and locker rooms) and girls’ sports teams based on biological sex.

“This Department of Justice is determined to put an end to local school authorities keeping parents in the dark about how sexuality and gender ideology are being pushed in classrooms,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Supreme Court precedent leaves no doubt: parents have the fundamental right and primary authority to direct the care, upbringing, and education of their children. This includes exempting their children from ideological instruction that contradicts their values or decisions about their children’s health and best interests.”

The investigations will examine whether these Illinois School Districts, which are recipients of hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer funding, are adhering to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Supreme Court’s extensive precedents on parental rights as recently reiterated in Mirabelli v. Bontaand Mahmoud v. Taylor.

The Civil Rights Division has not reached any conclusions about the subject matter of the investigations.

The Illinois School Districts under investigation include:

• Atwood Heights School District 125
• Bloomington Public Schools District 87
• Bluford Unit School District 318
• Buncombe Consolidated School District 43
• Center Cass School District 66
• Central School District 104
• Community High School District 155
• Country Club Hills School District 160
• Crete-Monee School District 201-U
• DeKalb Community Unit School District 428
• East Dubuque Unit School District 119
• Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401
• Freeport School District 145
• Galena Unit School District 120
• Gillespie Community Unit School District 7
• Iroquois County Community Unit School District 9
• Leyden Community High School District 212
• Lick Creek Community Consolidated School District 16
• Lyons School District 103
• Martinsville Community Unit School District C3
• Meridian Community Unit School District 223
• Noble Network of Charter Schools
• North Chicago Community Unit School District 187
• North Palos School District 117
• Norwood Elementary School District 63
• O’Fallon Community Consolidated School District No. 90
• Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123
• Odin Public School District 722
• Oregon Community Unit School District 220
• Pembroke Community Consolidated School District 259
• Reavis Township High School District 220
• Ridgeview Community Unit School District 19
• Stockton Community Unit School District 206
• Tamaroa School District 5
• Thornton Fractional Township High School District 215
• Will County School District 92

The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday said it is investigating 35 Illinois school districts, including several in the suburbs, and a Chicago charter operator to see if they are teaching about sexual orientation and “gender ideology” in classrooms and if so, whether parents are allowed to opt out.

The investigations also will examine whether the districts limit access to single-sex locker rooms and bathrooms and girls sports teams. That essentially means they’ll be looking at whether or not districts allow transgender students to use facilities and play on athletic teams that correspond with their gender identity.

The Trump administration has used the term“gender ideology” to call into question the existence of transgender people and gender identities. Top federal officials have spent the last year working to eliminate instruction about and recognition of trans people in K-12 schools, including by seeking to strip federal funds from schools that teach about trans youth in federally funded sex ed classes or allow trans students to play on sports teams that match their gender identity.

In a news release, Justice Department officials cited Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education, as the basis for the investigations, as well as a recent Supreme Court decision that ruled parents have the religious right to opt their children out of lessons at school if they do not align with their faith. It appears the Trump administration is trying to take that further by proactively looking into whether school districts have opt-out procedures in place.

The Noble Network of Charter Schools, which runs 17 high schools and one middle school in Chicago, is among those under investigation. A spokesperson for the operator said they didn’t have a comment at this time.

Chicago-area districts under investigation include Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123, Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401 and Thornton Fractional Township High School District 215.

A spokesperson for District 215 said its attorney was reviewing the department’s correspondence but didn’t have further comment. The other two districts did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

The Justice Department didn’t outline what sparked the investigations or how it chose those districts out of the hundreds in Illinois. A department spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the investigations.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement that the department is determined “to put an end to local authorities keeping parents in the dark” about how sexuality and gender identity are “being pushed” in classrooms.

“Parents have the fundamental right and primary authority to direct the care, upbringing, and education of their children,” Dillon wrote. “This includes exempting their children from ideological instruction that contradicts their values or decisions about their children’s health and best interests.”

The Trump administration has wielded the threat of pulling federal funding to change school policies it disagrees with, but the Justice Department’s involvement in matters related to school curriculum appears to be a relatively new strategy. In February the department announced similar investigations into school districts in Michigan.

The investigations follow a pattern of attempts by the Trump administration to strip protections for LGBTQ+ students enacted by school districts across the country. It’s also taken aim at diversity, equity and inclusion programs, such as Chicago Public Schools’ Black Student Success plan.

The Department of Education announced last year that it was investigating CPS over whether the district’s policies allowing student locker room access that aligns with their gender identity violated Title IX.

Less than a month into his second term, Trump issued an executive order threateningto withhold federal funding from schools that allow trans girls to play on women’s sports teams. His administration has sued states for not complying.

Illinois has followed its state laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity, requiring schools to protect transgender students’ right to use facilities and participate in events and programs that match their gender identity.

The administration has also shown support for parental rights advocates who were handed a victory last year by the Supreme Court in Mahmoud v. Taylor. Parents in Montgomery County, Maryland sued the school district after it prevented them from opting their children out of lessons featuring LGBTQ characters and themes.

Parents argued the teachings went against their religious beliefs and they should be allowed to opt out. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the parents.

It led to concerns that some schools would choose to forsake certain lessons and materials to reduce the likelihood of opt-outs, decreasing the diversity of curriculums.

The Department of Justice launches a civil rights investigation into 36 Illinois school districts over schools teaching lessons on sexual orientation and gender ideology

This investigation will also look at whether schools limit access to places like bathrooms and locker rooms based on biological sex

I looked into what the full investigation covers

• Curriculum and Lessons on Sexual Orientation and Gender Ideology
• Whether districts included such content in any Pre-K through 12th-grade classes
• Whether parents were properly notified and given the opportunity to opt their children out of these lessons
• Access to Single-Sex Spaces and Sports
• Whether schools limit access to bathrooms, locker rooms, and other intimate single-sex facilities based on biological sex
• Whether girls’ sports teams are restricted to biological females, including policies on transgender participation

The concern is whether schools were teaching this without proper parental notice or consent

The DOJ wants to know if schools followed rules protecting single-sex spaces and fair sports for girls

According to state policy this is what they are allowed to do. Bottom line-if you don’t agree then don’t vote for politicians that support this.

Illinois schools have followed state-level policies and guidance that treat gender identity as the basis for access to facilities and sports, rather than biological sex. This stems from the Illinois Human Rights Act (which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity) and non-regulatory guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR). dhr.illinois.gov
Facilities (Bathrooms, Locker Rooms, Changing Areas)

• Official policy: Students must be permitted to use restrooms, locker rooms, showers, and changing rooms aligning with their gender-related identity, without needing medical documentation, surgery, or proof of anatomy/chromosomes. Restricting based on “physical anatomy or chromosomal sex” is described as discriminatory. Schools are advised to develop policies for full access consistent with gender identity. dhr.illinois.gov
• ISBE/IDHR guidance: This is framed as required for compliance with state law. Districts are encouraged to designate “Gender Support Coordinators” and make these policies public. isbe.net
• Documented implementation: In practice, this has led to biological males (identifying as girls) using girls’ facilities. Examples include complaints and investigations in districts like Deerfield Public Schools District 109 (middle school girls reportedly required to change in front of a transgender student in the girls’ locker room) and earlier Palatine Township High School District 211 cases involving locker room access. foxnews.com
  Sports and Athletics
• IHSA (Illinois High School Association) policy: Transgender students can participate in sports aligning with their gender identity. For state series/postseason, they may need an eligibility waiver or ruling, but the default follows state law allowing participation consistent with gender identity. In one reported year, only a small number (e.g., three) of biological males received waivers for girls’ teams. mystateline.com
• State guidance: Sports and physical education are treated as “facilities, goods, and services” under the Human Rights Act. Students cannot be denied full participation on teams aligning with gender identity. This applies to interscholastic activities. dhr.illinois.gov
• IHSA stance: The association has upheld this approach citing state law, even amid federal executive actions emphasizing biological sex. Regular-season decisions are largely left to member schools. mystateline.com
  Curriculum and Related Practices
  Many districts have incorporated LGBTQ+ topics via the Inclusive Curriculum Law (Public Act 101-0227, effective 2020), which requires instruction portraying contributions of LGBT individuals accurately. ISBE provides implementation guidance for aligning this with social science standards. Sex education in some districts follows broader standards that can include gender identity topics. isbe.net
  These are statewide frameworks applied across public schools. Individual districts vary in exact implementation, training, and parent notification, which is part of what the current DOJ probes are examining. Illinois has resisted federal shifts toward biological-sex definitions, leading to the compliance reviews. Biological males retain average physical advantages (e.g., muscle mass, bone density, strength metrics) after puberty, per sports physiology data, which is the core fairness issue in girls’ categories.