District 211 hosting community presentations on gender identity

In the wake of its decision to allow a transgender student limited access to a girls locker room, Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 will host five community education sessions on gender identity and gender development starting March 3.

The sessions will be conducted by four consultants, including Jennifer Leininger, program coordinator at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. She previously led District 211's staff training on the same topic after the district and the U.S. Department of Education agreed in December to allow the student locker room access.

Although the agreement was intensely debated at several public school board meetings, the upcoming sessions are not an opportunity to revisit those discussions, said Mark Kovack, associate superintendent for student services.

"This is a presentation," he said. "It is not an open forum with back-and-forth dialogue. We describe it as an educational opportunity. What we hope to accomplish is that people will walk away with some useful information."

Anyone who lives or works in the district can attend.

"We didn't want to just limit it to parents," District 211 spokesman Tom Petersen said.

The five 90-minute sessions will be held at each of the district's schools, beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 3, at Schaumburg High School, 1100 W. Schaumburg Road.

The others, all set to start at 7 p.m., are scheduled for Tuesday, March 29, at Hoffman Estates High School; Thursday, March 31, at Fremd High School in Palatine; Tuesday, April 19, at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates; and Wednesday, April 27, at Palatine High School.

After the presentation, any remaining time at the sessions will be devoted to answering questions attendees write down on cards that will be handed out.

Even since the agreement in December, the rights of transgender students and the roots of gender identity issues have continued to be debated by community members at school board meetings.

The district's deal with the Department of Education required staff training, but the community education sessions are something District 211 is doing by choice, Kovack said.

"This is something that organically came out of our experiences," he said. "We decided helping people to have more knowledge would be worthwhile."