Federal funding for Chicago Public Schools and other local school districts is under threat by a civil rights investigation into schools for allowing transgender students access to bathrooms and locker rooms in accordance with Illinois law.The U.S. Department of Education announced last week that it was opening an investigation into CPS and Deerfield School District 109 after politically conservative groups filed complaints about transgender students being allowed to change in the locker room that lines up with their gender identities. The federal agency also said it's investigating the Illinois Department of Education, misnaming the state body overseeing public schools, which is called the Illinois State Board of Education. The federal department said it is investigating the districts for allegedly violating Title IX, which protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal funding"The architects of Title IX understood that males and females, especially minors, have a right to be free from compelled exposure of their bodies or from engaging in intimate activities — like changing their clothes in a locker room — in front of the opposite sex,” said Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights.The investigation was announced on the day President Donald Trump signed an executive order pushing to dismantle the department — something he can’t do without Congress. Recent staff cuts have also curtailed the work of the department’s Office for Civil Rights, which is handling the investigation.The Trump administration has threatened to pull funding from schools that violate his executive orders aimed at transgender students, and last week’s announcement warns that violations of Title IX could result in a loss of federal funding.How did this all start?The announcement cited north suburban Deerfield parent Nicole Georgas’ campaign against a transgender student at her daughter's school, saying her cisgender daughter shouldn’t have to share a locker room with a transgender girl. The transgender student was said to have changed in the girls’ locker room. Georgas said that, as a result, her daughter refused to change there. The Education Department's announcement included Georgas’ claim that students were “forced” to change in the locker room with the transgender student. Parent Nicole Georgas addresses the District 109 board meeting on March 13. Screenshot from school board video The Deerfield school district denied that claim and said its policies align with state law.“No student is required to change into a gym uniform for physical education class in front of others in locker rooms," a written statement from the north suburban district said. "All students in the middle schools have multiple options to change in a private location if they wish.”Georgas said she filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department. The situation got the attention of conservative media outlets and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who has become known in recent years for her stance against transgender rights.What does the law say?Illinois law prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, requiring schools to protect transgender students’ right to use restrooms and facilities that match their gender identity. Chicago's Human Rights Ordinance requires all public and private facilities in the city to allow people to use facilities that line up with their gender identity.“Illinois law is the controlling law for these schools, and there is no federal law that speaks to this issue,” said Ed Yohnka, policy director for ACLU Illinois. “If they try to punish an Illinois school for following Illinois law, you’ll see challenges pretty quickly.”A 2020 Supreme Court decision also established precedent nationwide against discrimination based on gender identity under existing Title VII protections.“It is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex,” wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, in the 6-3 majority opinion.Under the Biden administration, the U.S. Education Department affirmed that Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity, among other factors. But that guidance was blocked by a federal judge in January.What’s the status of anti-trans executive orders?The complaints against the school districts cite Trump’s executive orders — one stating the U.S. will only recognize two unchangeable sexes and another attempting to ban transgender women and girls from participating in sports teams that align with their gender identity.Executive orders aren’t laws and can't change legislation passed by Congress or constitutional protections. They have more to do with how federal agencies carry out the laws passed by Congress.Many executive orders also don’t go into effect immediately. In recent cases, federal judges have temporarily blocked several amid challenges. Trans and Haitian Flags along with pro-trans messages hang on the fences near the honorary street naming ceremony for trans activist Elise Malary in the Andersonville neighborhood last year.Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times file School policies are decided at the local level, but the federal government can try to force schools to comply with the order by threatening funding cuts or federal investigations. The Trump administration said it has suspended $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania and threatened Justice Department investigations into Maine schools for allowing trans women and girls to play sports.“They’re conducting these investigations based on executive orders that are being challenged or don’t carry the weight of law,” Yohnka said. “The investigations are really a coercion tool to get states and others to come to heel to the administration’s policy.”Trump’s executive order about trans girls and women in sports and a New Hampshire state law seeking to enact the same ban are also being challenged by GLAD Law and the ACLU of New Hampshire on behalf of two teenage girls.An Arizona law has seen similar legal challenges. A three-judge panel in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck it down because of its enforcement being based on transgender status. Both cases are ongoing.“The Trump administration’s executive orders amount to a coordinated campaign to prevent transgender people from functioning in society,” said Chris Erchull, a GLAD Law attorney. “The systematic targeting of transgender people across American institutions is chilling, but targeting young people in schools, denying them support and essential opportunities during their most vulnerable years is especially cruel.”A Maryland district judge recently issued a temporary restraining order on one of the president's executive orders attempting to ban gender-affirming care for patients under 19, stating the president didn’t have the power to redirect funds that were allocated by Congress. Another federal judge recently found evidence the Trump administration was illegally withholding funds despite judicial orders to continue providing it.What impact could federal investigations have?Though the majority of school funding comes from local and state tax revenue, losing federal funds would still be a significant hit — particularly to schools with large populations of students from low-income families or students with disabilities, who are often the beneficiaries of federal education dollars. Federal funding made up about 16%, about $1.3 billion, of the $8.4 billion Chicago Public Schools 2024 operating budget.Regardless of the legal implications, even the threat of anti-trans policies has negatively affected trans youth, who have been the targets of many state laws and Trump’s executive orders.States that passed anti-trans laws saw suicide attempts among trans teens increase by as much as 72% after the bills were signed. Experts and advocates of trans teens believe these numbers will go up as the attack moves nationwide. ...read more read less