The Justice Department has opened an investigation into three dozen Illinois school districts to determine whether pre-K–12 students were taught sexual orientation and gender identity content in classes without the schools notifying parents.
The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is leading the investigation.
“This Department of Justice is determined to put an end to local school authorities keeping parents in the dark about how sexuality and gender ideology are being pushed in classrooms,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a statement.
Illinois, under Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state Attorney General Kwame Raoul, has clashed with the Trump administration on several legal fronts, such as immigration enforcement, federal funding, and other matters.
Pritzker is the co-leader, along with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, of Governors Safeguarding Democracy, a coalition of Democrat governors that promotes state litigation against the Trump administration.
If schools are teaching sexual orientation and gender identity-related content, the investigations will examine whether the schools have notified parents of their right to opt their children out of such instruction.