Gender, sexuality policies under federal review in Oregon, Stillman Valley school districts: DOJ

Oregon Community Unit School District 220 and Meridian Community Unit School District 223 in Stillman Valley are among three dozen school systems in Illinois that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating over policies related to gender and sexuality.

The federal agency announced Thursday it’s looking into 36 school districts, including how and if they teach about gender and sexuality, and potentially into what parent opt-outs are in place, whether bathrooms and locker rooms are single-sex-only and whether access to girls sports teams is limited “based on biological sex,” according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

According to the DOJ’s news release, it was launching the probe of the Illinois school systems to “determine whether they have included sexual orientation and gender ideology content in any class for grades pre-K-12.”

Saying his district had been given no notice about the DOJ’s investigation before receiving formal notification at midday Thursday, District 220 Superintendent PJ Caposey took to the district’s Facebook page throughout Friday to update the community and alleviate fears.

“We know that news like this naturally creates concern, questions, and uncertainty for families, staff and community members. Because of that, we are committed to sharing credible information as quickly as possible while also being careful not to present speculation as fact,” Caposey wrote. “At this time, we still do not have definitive answers from the Department of Justice regarding why Oregon was specifically included.”

He said district leadership was working internally and alongside legal counsel, professional associations and other statewide partners Friday to better understand whether there may be a common thread connecting the public school districts identified.

He said one emerging operational theory is that all of the public school districts named appear to share participation in Department of Justice grant opportunities, specifically the School Violence Prevention Program grant, which supports school safety infrastructure and security enhancements.

“To be absolutely clear, this does not confirm that grant participation is the reason for inclusion, nor can we state that as fact,” he said. “It is simply one possible connection being explored as we work to better understand the broader picture. While this remains a developing situation, our priority is straightforward: gather accurate information, respond responsibly, and keep our community informed. We will continue to communicate directly as we learn more.”

District 223 Superintendent Michael Plourde was out of the district office and unavailable for comment when contacted Friday morning. District 223, located in northeastern Ogle County, is commonly known as the Stillman Valley school district.

In the DOJ news release, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the division is focused on ensuring parents are not “kept in the dark” about classroom instruction and that schools follow federal law, including Title IX.

The Justice Department emphasized that the investigations are preliminary and that no findings have been made.

If it’s determined that districts are teaching SOGI content, the investigations will then expand to “whether the schools have notified parents of their right to opt their children out of such instruction,” as well as whether districts “limit access to single-sex intimate spaces [such as bathrooms and locker rooms] and girls sports teams based on biological sex.”

A spokesperson for the Office of Gov. JB Pritzker called the investigation led by the Trump Administration a “sham” meant to “punish states the president does not like.”

“The Civil Rights Division used to investigate actual discrimination concerns to ensure all individuals are treated equally under the law, but they’re now focused on belittling the rights and humanity of LGBTQ+ communities,” the spokesperson said.

Caposey said he hopes the investigation will not meaningfully affect students’ educational experiences.

“School will continue as normal. Students will continue learning as normal. Our focus will remain on providing a high-quality educational experience while district leadership manages the broader administrative process behind the scenes,” he wrote. “This review may create additional work at the district leadership level, but our commitment is to absorb those burdens and insulate students, families, and school operations from unnecessary disruption as much as possible.”

He also said that as “more verified information becomes available, I will continue to communicate directly and transparently.”

Other schools on the DOJ’s review list include: