The Trump administration said Thursday it had launched investigations into District 87, Ridgeview, and 34 other Illinois school districts to “to determine whether they have included sexual orientation and gender ideology content in any class for grades pre-K-12.”
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is leading the investigations.
“If they are teaching [sexual orientation and gender ideology]-related content, the investigations will examine whether the schools have notified parents of their right to opt their children out of such instruction,” the DOJ said in a press release. “The investigation will also assess whether the Illinois school districts limit access to single-sex intimate spaces (such as bathrooms and locker rooms) and girls sports teams based on biological sex.”
District 87 and Ridgeview are the only two districts in McLean County on the list, and it’s unclear why they were singled out. The other districts are located all over the state – from the Chicago area to Iroquois County to far Southern Illinois.
WGLT has requested a comment from District 87, based in Bloomington, and Ridgeview, which serves over 500 students in rural eastern McLean County.
The DOJ’s statement Thursday also appears to threaten federal funding if the school districts are found to be doing something the Trump administration dislikes. The Trump administration has wielded (or tried to wield) funding threats to exert influence or punish perceived enemies at many types of institutions, including higher education and public media.
The DOJ announced similar investigations at Michigan school districts in February.
“This Department of Justice is determined to put an end to local school authorities keeping parents in the dark about how sexuality and gender ideology are being pushed in classrooms,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “Supreme Court precedent leaves no doubt: Parents have the fundamental right and primary authority to direct the care, upbringing, and education of their children. 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 radically reshaped the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, which was created during the civil rights movement and the push to end racial segregation, NPR reported last year. Now, the Trump administration has redirected the division to enforce President Trump's executive orders, including ending the alleged radical indoctrination in schools, defending women from "gender ideology extremism," and combatting antisemitism and purported anti-Christian bias.
It is normal for the division's priorities to shift from administration to administration, particularly from one party to another. But the changes underway now are far beyond the normal recalibration, current and former employees and outside observers told NPR.
This story will be updated.
