A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Deerfield Public School District 109 concerning its policies on transgender students, potentially concluding a contentious legal dispute reflecting broader national debates around gender and inclusion in schools.
The lawsuit, filed last year by Nicole Georgas, a former district parent, alleged that school officials compelled her daughter and other students to change clothes during gym class alongside a transgender student—a claim the district has denied. Georgas also publicly called for locker rooms and restrooms to be designated strictly by biological sex during school board meetings and on the Fox News program “America Reports.”
Georgas’s suit named the district and two school officials as defendants, asserting that the district’s transgender student policies violated Title IX, the federal law barring sex discrimination in education. Additional claims included violations of the Equal Protection Clause and the First Amendment.
On May 20, Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted the district’s motion to dismiss the federal claims in the complaint. She dismissed the Equal Protection, Title IX, and First Amendment claims but declined to exercise jurisdiction over two remaining state-law claims alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress and intrusion upon seclusion, leaving those matters unresolved.
In a statement following the ruling, Deerfield District 109 emphasized that the court’s decision affirms the legality of the district’s policies under federal law. The district highlighted that the court recognized its efforts to provide equal access for all students and noted the potential legal consequences of excluding transgender students from facilities that correspond with their gender identity. “Our focus remains on our students and providing learning environments where they feel safe, supported and able to learn,” the statement said.
Attorney Ajay Gupta, representing Georgas, has approximately one month to file an amended complaint. Gupta, a Republican candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives in District 41, has offered pro bono legal support to parents challenging transgender-inclusive school policies. Attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful.
The dismissal was met with praise from LGBTQ+ advocates and local organizations. Kristal Larson, executive director of the LGBTQ Center of Lake County, described the outcome as a reaffirmation that Lake County is a “safe place” for LGBTQ+ students to express their identity without fear of legal reprisals. José Che-Che Wilson, director of Civic Engagement at Equality Illinois, called the lawsuit an expression of transphobia, adding that it failed to demonstrate any real harm and reiterated that every student in Illinois deserves a safe and inclusive educational environment.
However, the legal battle has come at significant expense. According to district financial records, the combined costs of legal fees, communications, and security related to the lawsuit have approached $400,000.
Deerfield is not alone in facing legal scrutiny over transgender student policies. Earlier this year, North Chicago Community Unit School District 187 was among 36 Illinois districts investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division for issues involving sexual orientation and gender identity content. In May, Deerfield’s District 109, along with Community High School District 128, was named in a series of federal civil rights complaints filed by Awake Illinois, a conservative advocacy group opposing certain school district policies on gender and inclusion.
Awake Illinois, founded in 2021 by Shannon Adcock of Naperville—who also chairs Moms for Liberty DuPage County—has actively encouraged litigation targeting school districts over these issues. Adcock has urged parents to participate in existing lawsuits or file new ones against local school policies, reflecting ongoing tensions around gender and educational environments in Illinois and beyond.