Illinois mom files federal lawsuit after school district secretly transitioned her child behind her back

An Illinois school district is facing a federal class-action lawsuit over claims it secretly transitioned a minor student’s gender identity at school.

The mother of a high school student enrolled in Community Unit School District 300 filed the lawsuit in federal court against the district and the superintendent.

The mother says school employees began using an alternate name and pronouns for her child in 2022 without informing her. The suit alleges the child’s mental health plummeted during this time, sending the student to the hospital after experiencing thoughts of suicide.

Naperville, Illinois, attorney Ajay Gupta is representing the mother at no cost. Gupta says school district officials intentionally excluded the mother from major life-altering decisions even after she repeatedly refused consent for a so-called “gender support plan.”

“We believe that so-called non-regulatory guidance issued by the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Illinois State Board of Education is forcing school districts across the state to usurp parental authority and endanger vulnerable children’s physical and mental well-being,” Gupta told Awake Illinois during a live stream. “This guidance clearly violates federal law, and we will prove as much in court.”

The mother was finally able to secure a copy of the secret plan in September 2025 after filing a complaint under the family educational rights and privacy act.

Gupta argues a school district using alternate pronouns for minors without the knowledge of parents violates a parent’s basic constitutional rights.

“Parents should be the ones who have primary responsibility for this and should be involved in every step of that process, rather than being kept in the dark,” Gupta said. “It goes to the very heart of the question that’s at issue here is: Whose child is it?”

The class-action lawsuit seeks a permanent court order to forbid Illinois schools from socially transitioning children without informed parental consent. Although the lawsuit was filed to protect all affected parents, Gupta notes the district has fought back against the family’s request to remain anonymous. He encourages other local families who are terrified of standing up to reach out anyway.

“To the extent folks have concerns about retribution blowback, you know, we will do whatever we can to keep things anonymous, and if it looks like, you know, at any point they believe that their privacy may be compromised, they can decide not to proceed any further, but there’s absolutely no harm in at least reaching out and having an initial conversation,” Gupta said.

Gupta is currently litigating similar federal civil rights lawsuits in Illinois. One is against Valley View School District, where a biological male student was granted unrestricted access to girls’ restrooms and locker rooms on demand.

His case against Deerfield District 109 features a traumatizing account of a 13-year-old middle school girl who was coerced, cornered and shamed by administrators into undressing in front of a biological male student in a school locker room.

The broader legal landscape appears to be evolving after a recent U.S. Supreme Court victory defending parental rights in California.