Students And Parents For Privacy vs School Directors Of Township High School District 211 No. 16 C 4945. United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division.

1. Sharing Bathrooms
Litigation in Illinois
1
James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

2. March 29, 2019
Students And Parents For Privacy
vs School Directors Of Township
High School District 211
No. 16 C 4945. United States
District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern
Division.
2
James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

3. Will the case be dismissed?
Assumes factual allegations in the Complaint are true.
3
James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

4. Plainti s’ Point of View
● Plaintiffs Students and Parents for Privacy ("SPP") is a
voluntary, unincorporated association of: (1) students who are
(or will be) attending District 211 high schools; and (2) their
parents.
● Essentially, the conservative Christian point of view
● Opposed to high school sharing of locker rooms via the school
LGBT policy.
● A person's perception of his or her own gender does not
change his or her primary or secondary sex characteristics or 4

5. Defendants’ Point of View
● Defendants seek to affirm the claimed genders of students by
allowing male students who claim female gender to use privacy
facilities (i.e., bathrooms and locker rooms) designated for use
by the female sex.
● Female students who claim male gender to use privacy
facilities designated for the male sex.
● Accommodating high school students sharing locker rooms via
the LGBT policy.
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James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

6. Plainti s’ Harm
● District 211's policy caused students:
○ embarrassment, humiliation,
○ anxiety, fear, stress, and
○ degradation and loss of dignity.
● Girls were startled, shocked, embarrassed and frightened by the presence of a male
in the girls' restroom.
● One girl was exposed to “Student A's” penis.
● After District 211 allowed “Student A” to use the girls' locker rooms, an SPP Parent
requested that her daughter be allowed to use a private locker room.
● District 211 refused.
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James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

7. School District
“compelled affirmation policy”
Student is compelled to affirm
the locker room rules
Students use the restroom
and locker room facilities
of their choice.
●
●
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James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

8. School District
“compelled affirmation policy”
Student is compelled to
affirm the locker room rules
District
●
●
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James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

9. Impact on Girls
❏
❏
❏
●
●
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James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

10. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
No person in the United States
shall, on the basis of sex, be
excluded from participation in,
be denied the benefits of, or
be subjected to discrimination
under any education program
or activity receiving Federal
financial assistance.
A school district may be liable for sexual
harassment if the district was
"deliberately indifferent to sexual
harassment, of which they have actual
knowledge, that is so severe, pervasive
and objectively offensive that it can be
said to deprive the victims of access to
the educational opportunities or benefits
provided by the school."
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James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

11. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
Low Standard
"during my employment, I was
subjected to sexual
harassment. I complained to
no avail."
● SPP has pleaded far more
than is necessary ... to
state a claim for sexual
harassment.
● Whether SPP can
ultimately prevail on this
claim is a question for
another day.
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James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

12. “Right to Bodily Privacy”
Fundamental right to bodily privacy
that protects their partially-unclothed
or fully-unclothed bodies.
Right to be free from
government-enforced, unconsented
risk of exposure to the opposite sex
when they or members of the
opposite sex are partially or fully
unclothed.
This right is not explicitly
found in the Constitution.
This right must be found, if
at all, in the Due Process
Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment to the
Constitution.
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James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

13. “Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution”
Provides protection against
government interference
with certain fundamental
rights and liberty interests
Right to:
1. marry,
2. have children,
3. direct the education and
upbringing of one's children,
4. marital privacy,
5. use contraception,
6. to bodily integrity [stomach
pumping], and
7. abortion
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James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

14. “Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution”
The right not to be seen
unclothed by the opposite
sex is not on the Supreme
Court's list
➔ Public school locker rooms, are
not notable for privacy.
➔ Nudity taboo retains great
strength in the United States.
➔ Nudity taboo is not of uniform
strength.
➔ Some level of for adult privacy
(less so for students) in urination
and in being naked in front of the
opposite sex.
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James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

15. Fourteenth Amendment - Dismissed
15
James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

16. “Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act”
Government may
substantially burden a
person's exercise of religion
only if (i) is in furtherance of
a compelling governmental
interest and (ii) is the least
restrictive means to do so
Plaintiffs have
included sufficient
facts
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James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

17. “Free Exercise of Religion - First Amendment”
The Court agrees that the
compelled affirmative policy
is facially neutral. The
allegations in the complaint
do not suggest that the
policy targets religion.
Plaintiffs say District 211
conveyed to students that
anyone who objects to the
compelled affirmation policy
is a bigot or intolerant.
17
James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.

18. Outcome
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The Lawsuit Continues
Strength:
● Appeal of the facts: “If I had a daughter.” The girls are sympathetic.
Weakness:
● Unclear how this is “religious” - policy is facially neutral
● No clear Constitutional rights about nudity in high school locker room
● What did the School District say to conveyed to students that “anyone who
objects to the compelled affirmation policy is a bigot or intolerant?”
James Lindon, Ph.D., J.D.