Noble charter network, suburban school districts face federal probe over LGBTQ-related lessons

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 threatening to 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.