Illinois School Staff Watched to Ensure Girls Changed in Front of Trans-Identifying Boy

The mother of a girl attending an Illinois middle school said that after her daughter refused to change her clothes in front of a biological boy who identified as a transgender girl, school officials stepped in and forced her to do so.

Nicole Georgas told the story of what she said happened to her 13-year-old daughter and other girls at Shepard Middle School while speaking at a Deerfield School District 109 School Board meeting on Thursday, National Review reported. Deerfield is a suburb of Chicago. Georgas said her daughter came home upset on February 5, saying a boy was using the girl’s bathroom.

According to Georgas, the girl was then told by school administrators that the boy was allowed to use the girl’s locker room and bathroom because he identified as a girl, and the school’s “inclusive” bathroom policy allowed him to use whichever locker room he wanted.

Georgas said she spoke to school administrators and told them they were violating President Donald Trump’s executive order that prohibited males from using female locker rooms and participating in girls’ sports. The school stood its ground, citing the district’s legal counsel.

After this exchange, Georgas said Thursday, “the situation went from bad to worse.”

“A few days later, the male student was present in the girl’s locker room. Feeling violated, the girls made the choice not to change into their PE clothes with the biological male student present,” Georgas said.

The mother said that school administrators then supervised the girls’ locker room to make sure that the girls changed their clothes in front of the transgender-identifying boy without protest.

She identified the district’s assistant superintendent for student services, the school’s assistant principal, and the director for student services as the administrators who forced the girls to change in front of the boy, according to the Lake County Gazette.

“The girls just want their privacy and they want their locker room back,” she said. “There are gender neutral options. This is my daughter’s story, and the story of many other young girls who have been forced at the difficult age to do something they know and most adults know is wrong.”

Georgas’ story received boos from transgender activists in attendance at the school board meeting, including one transgender-identifying person who also happens to have a child identifying as transgender.

“The discomfort or privacy concerns of other students, teachers, or parents are not valid reasons to deny or limit the full and equal use of those facilities based on a student’s gender-related identity,” said the activist, who serves as the director of operations for Trans Up Front, an activist organization. “Instead, any student, teacher or other individuals seeking more privacy should be accommodated by providing that individual with a more private option.”

Georgas said she filed a civil rights complaint with the Justice Department.