Prairie State Wire

David E. Smith, Executive Director of the Illinois Family Institute, is voicing strong opposition to the policies that allow transgender students to use facilities that align with their gender identity, emphasizing the importance of maintaining separate spaces for biological males and females.

“We believe that the privacy of biological female students should be protected in all public spaces, especially when it comes to locker rooms and restrooms,” Smith told Prairie State Wire. “To ensure that Title IX is being followed in local schools, schools must uphold that only biological females can use women’s spaces and only biological males can use male spaces.”

Smith’s comments come as the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has opened investigations into the Illinois Department of Education, Chicago Public Schools District 299, and Deerfield Public Schools District 109 after complaints surfaced that female students were forced to share locker rooms with a male student due to his gender identity. 

These investigations stem from allegations that school administrators pressured girls to undress in front of a male student, raising concerns about potential violations of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational settings.

The controversy gained national attention when a parent, Nicole Georgas, testified at a District 109 School Board meeting on March 13, detailing how her 13-year-old daughter and other girls were allegedly pressured by administrators at Shepard Middle School to change in front of a male student who identified as female. 

Georgas later filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, arguing that her daughter's privacy and dignity were violated.

Smith echoed Georgas' concerns, asserting that schools should never pressure students to share intimate spaces with the opposite sex. 

“School administrators should never allow or pressure students to share intimate spaces with individuals of the opposite sex,” he said. “Allowing biological males into women’s spaces is not only disrespectful to women, it is dangerous both physically and mentally, not to mention foolish. When students object to sharing intimate spaces with members of the opposite sex, it is the job of the school administration to protect those students through honoring their wishes and not pander to politically correct ideology.”

Smith also called for stricter compliance with executive orders that aim to preserve privacy and protect students from what he describes as the “delusion” of gender identity policies. 

“Local schools, if they wish to prevent the loss of federal funding must immediately cease all LGBTQ+ affirming practices which includes feeding into the delusion that a biological male can become a woman,” he said. “They must comply with Trump’s executive order which seeks to protect the privacy of women in their own spaces.”

The ongoing OCR investigations into these Illinois school districts are closely tied to the broader debate over how schools should handle gender identity issues. 

Critics, including Smith, argue that policies allowing transgender students to access facilities based on their gender identity undermine scientific reality and endanger the privacy and safety of biological women. 

Smith is a vocal advocate for local school boards to uphold what he sees as the “truth” of biological science.

“To preserve student privacy and dignity in schools, local school boards must recognize true, biological science,” Smith said. “There are only two sexes – male and female. These sexes are determined from the moment of conception and cannot be changed through any kind of hormone treatment or surgery. The acceptance of any other kind of philosophy is dangerous and scientifically inaccurate. Because of this scientific reality, local school boards must then put in place standards which protect women in their private spaces.”