Parents and residents clashed at a school board meeting in Chicago on Monday after a trans junior high school student won multiple events at a local track meet.
The Naperville 203 Community School District Board meeting was at times contentious, with roughly 100 people in attendance, split between the main room and an overflow viewing area.
Those in support of the trans athlete waved the blue, pink and white striped transgender flag, while those advocating for athletes to compete against people of the same biological sex held signs reading “Protect girls sports” and “Defend Title IX,” a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.
CALIFORNIA TRACK MEET TURNS TO POLITICAL RALLY OVER TRANS ATHLETES AS SCHOOLS SPEAK OUT VS. STATE
The controversy centered around a biological male who competed in a 7th grade track meet against biological females at the Naper Prairie Conference Meet, with attendees at the meeting sharply divided on the issue.
“These situations place feelings over reason and force other students and families to participate in something we all know is a lie,” parent Mike LaBelle said.
Naperville resident Doug MacGregor said there is a hidden political agenda behind district policies.
“Many of us knew then the achievement gap was just a Trojan horse for DEI’s real objective, pronouns and the radical LGBTQ-plus agenda,” MacGregor said.
“Naperville parents will spend literally tens of thousands of dollars on sports throughout their daughters lives: travel teams, coaches, summer camps, traveling to tournaments and meets, etc. and when their daughter steps up for her chance to win a state championship or medal,” he said. “She’ll lose to a biological male. That once in a lifetime moment gone because of DEI’s political agenda.”
Those defending the trans athlete included Dorothy Powers, a parent of six who is non-binary. Powers argued that forcing students to compete in a gender category that does not match their identity harms their personal development.
“When a student is forced to compete in a gender with which he or she does not identify, education is a choice,” Powers said. “America began providing public education in 1635. Will Naperville continue the proud American tradition of forward progress, or try to justify exclusion? For those who are non-binary, of course I include. I encourage inclusion.”
ILLINOIS TRANS ATHLETE POLICY BREWING CONFLICT WITHIN STATE
Parent Tim Thompson said the controversy is not truly about races or a specific athlete, but rather part of a broader effort to target transgender students.
“Don’t be fooled. It was never about a race, and it was never about an athlete,” Thompson said. “This is an attempt to further marginalize the group and tell them that they don’t belong, that they aren’t good enough.”
Awake Illinois has filed a civil rights complaint against the district, with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights alleging a violation of Title IX.
They called on federal funds to be withheld from the district, which it says receives between $8 million and $9 million in federal grants annually. The complaint is part of a broader effort by Awake Illinois, which previously filed similar Title IX complaints against other districts and the Illinois State Board of Education.
Shannon Adcock of Awake Illinois also spoke out at the meeting.
“Now in 2025, you’ve got boys stealing girls’ victories, leaving young girls sobbing on the track,” Adcock said. “This isn’t inclusion. It’s oppression.”
Meanwhile, Lauren Hruby said that a solution may be to give trans students a different class of sports to compete against one another.
“But I think for women, I don’t think we stand a chance against a male,” she said. “I know a lot of these girls practice their entire life to try to get a scholarship, and there’s a lot lost opportunities, so I just wanted to come and support women in women’s sports.”
Fox News’ Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.
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