Two Will County public school districts are among 36 under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights division.
But it could be a waste of time.
The DOJ has tagged Crete-Monee School District 201-U and School District 92 in Lockport for investigation “to determine whether they have included sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI) content in any class for grades pre-K-12.”
Dr. Kara Coglianese, superintendent for C-M schools, said last week there’s nothing to see there.
“No, that content is not in any of the curriculum or instructional units,” she said. “From what I understand, almost all Illinois school districts received this letter to audit our school curriculum. We will comply with the Department of Justice’s request to review our health curriculum once they provide further instructions.”
District 92 officials did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The DOJ announced the inquiries in a news release on April 30, saying they “will examine whether the schools have notified parents of their right to opt their children out of such instruction. The investigation also will 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.”
According to the release, “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. Bonta and Mahmoud v. Taylor.”
The Vedette asked the DOJ press office how the districts were singled out for analysis, if the probe will be on-site at the schools or online, and if school systems in any other states would be included. The response was only, “The department declines to comment.”
A statement from Governor J.B. Pritzker’s office called the investigations “another sham.”
“The Trump Administration continues to punish states the President does not like, and this is yet another sham investigation carried out by an office with no regard for the rule of law or the well-being of the American people,” the statement said.
“The Civil Rights Division used to investigate actual discrimination concerns to ensure all individuals are treated equally under the law, but they’re now focused on belittling the rights and humanity of LGBTQ+ communities.”
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 press release notes the “Civil Rights Division has not reached any conclusions about the subject matter of the investigations.”