Filed Date: Nov. 30, 2017
Closed Date: 2020
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A transgender high school student represented by the ACLU sued her high school district in state court on November 30, 2017 for violating the Illinois Human Rights Act when they refused to allow her to change clothes for PE class in the girls’ locker room. The plaintiff, represented by the ACLU and private counsel, requested injunctive and declaratory relief, damages, and attorney’s fees. The case was assigned to Judge Thomas Allen.
On December 13, 2017, the plaintiff filed a motion for preliminary injunction to allow her to use the girls’ locker room during her last semester in high school. A student and parent association represented by a conservative Catholic public-interest law firm moved to intervene in the case on January 11, 2018 and filed a motion to dismiss. The trial court granted the motion to intervene six days later.
After briefing and a hearing, the plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction was denied by the trial court on January 25, 2018. The plaintiff appealed on November 30, 2018, but the Illinois Court of Appeals, in an opinion by Justice Shelvin Hall, dismissed the appeal as moot since the plaintiff had graduated and found that the interlocutory appeal had been forfeited because the plaintiff did not sufficiently argue the point in the appeal. 2018 WL 6314280.
The plaintiff filed an amended complaint on March 12, 2019, and renewed her argument for damages. In February 2020, the parties entered into a settlement agreement and the school district agreed to pay the plaintiff $150,000. The district also revised its policies to allow transgender students the same access to locker rooms as cisgender students. This case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Robin Peterson (12/1/2022)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 1:39 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Illinois
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Nov. 30, 2017
Closing Date: 2020
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
A transgender high school student
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
School District, School District
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Amount Defendant Pays: $150,000
Issues
General:
Discrimination-basis:
Type of Facility: