Images of their school were splashed across television screens for weeks. Many of the parents and students faced accusations of discriminating and being “inhumane.” Their school incurred not-so-subtle threats of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds. What was the issue that threw this suburb of Chicago—Palatine, Illinois—headfirst into a national media frenzy?
It all began with demands for the school to allow a boy, who was identifying as a girl, full access into female locker rooms. At first the school tried to accommodate the student as much as possible— allowing access to female bathrooms and addressing the student with a female name and pronouns, as well as granting the right to play on a female sports team. But school officials drew the line when it came to allowing unrestricted access to female locker rooms, especially after a community outcry to protect young girls’ physical privacy.