A fight at Hononegah over a policy in effect for 6 years

Two factions were calling for supporters to show up at the Hononegah School Board meeting on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 over the presence of trans students changing in female PE locker rooms. School administrators say their policy hasn't changed "since the enactment of the changes in the Illinois Human Rights Act in 2019," which "prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity." But some parents say that if the policy has been in effect since 2019, nobody informed them.

Former school board candidate Jenny Maragia was one of the concerned mothers who met for an hour on April 10 with Principal Chad Dougherty and Superintendent Michael Dugan. One mother said on Facebook that her daughter had been offended by "2 BOYS dressing in the girls lockerroom" and said administrators "offered to provide this young lady her own place to dress rather than remove the boys for HER lockerroom." Superintendent Dugan says, "The incident described never happened." However, the offer would be consistent with policies recommended by the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

Meanwhile, Rockton Pride was encouraging their supporters to attend the meeting, sharing an etiquette guide from Trans Up Front Illinois that says, "We are here to uplift and support" and encouraging outsiders to let local parents speak.

For his part, Superintendent Dugan says the school is simply abiding by the law. According to the Illinois Department of Human Rights (DHR), the 2019 Illinois Human Rights Act means that "Schools in Illinois may not discriminate against a student because of their gender-related identity, including treating them differently because their gender-related identity does not align with their designated sex at birth."

The DHR says, in a document that it calls "non-regulatory," that "Under the Act, 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 facilities based on a student’s gender-related identity. Instead, any student, teacher or other individual seeking more privacy should be accommodated by providing that individual a more private option upon their request, if possible."

Maragia claims school authorities have been telling girls that "its the 'right thing' to 'include' these students in their clothes changing time and if they dont want to do the 'right thing' they still have to change clothes but theyll be removed from their own locker room to do it."

Dugan says, "This is the first I have heard of this claim - this is not our direction."

Dugan denies that girls have to take off their clothes in front of other students. For one thing, he says, "most students do not change into another outfit for PE." Dugan explains, "For many years, the district has provided private changing areas both inside and outside the locker rooms. No child is required to change in front of another child. The district has not had PE uniforms for many years."

A similar case in Deerfield Illinois in March 2025 led to a federal complaint. Much like Hononegah, Deerfield school officials denied that students are required to change clothes in front of other students.

Dugan adds, "Our transgender students primarily utilize private rooms for changing."

Still, many parents are offended at the thought of their child sharing a locker room with any student with different genitalia. (And apparently, many PE students are offended at the thought of changing their clothes at school at all.)

But at least officially, Illinois law doesn't protect citizens from being offended. In a 2015 Illinois case, a school superintendent in North Riverside, IL  told a 9 year old trans student not to use the boy's restroom out of concern for the "comfort" of the other boys who shared it. The Illinois Human Rights Commission wasn't impressed. In a 2019 ruling [PDF], they said, "...the prejudices of others are part of what the Act was meant to prevent." The Commission compared it to the case of a business who feared they would lose customers if they didn't segregate an HIV-positive employee, or a municipal employee who was unwilling to be supervised by a black man. The Commission said, "...there is no right that insulates a student from coming in contact with others who are different than them..." They said that Illinois has no "Bathroom Privacy Act."

Neither State Representative John Cabello and State Senator Andrew Chesney are fans of Illinois's pro-trans laws. But it's not just state law, but both Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the U. S. Constitution. Dugan says Hononegah must abide by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decisions in A.C. v. Metropolitan School District and Whitaker v. Kenosha Unified School District. These opinions say that transgender students can "access facilities (bathrooms and locker rooms) that align with the students’ gender identity."

Also, Dugan says Maragia claimed that "multiple students sexually assaulted a female student under [Hononegah's] football bleachers," but that the school district covered it up. Jenny Maragia heard the story from a student and it reminded her of the 2020 film Promising Young Woman. Dugan and Dougherty asked Maragia for "the names of anyone involved and the dates," which Maragia didn't provide. Dugan says, "We have reported this accusation to the Rockton Police Department for further investigation."