The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, headed by Harmeet Dhillon, has launched investigations into 36 Illinois school districts over whether they have included sexual orientation and gender ideology teachings in classes for students, and if they kept those lessons secret from parents.

The investigations will determine whether they are teaching such content to kindergarten through 12th-grade students, and whether or not those schools notified parents of their right to opt their children out of such lessons. Additionally, the Civil Rights Division is investigating whether the districts have been allowing male students into female spaces, such as locker rooms, and onto their sports teams.

Assistant Attorney General Dhillon said, “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. Supreme Court precedent leaves no doubt: parents have the fundamental right and primary authority to direct the care, upbringing, and education of their children. This includes exempting their children from ideological instruction that contradicts their values or decisions about their children’s health and best interests.”

Dhillon told Fox News, “we have reason to believe that these school districts in Illinois are not obeying the law.”

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s office said in response to the investigation, “The Trump Administration continues to punish states the President does not like and this is yet another sham investigation carried out by an office with no regard for the rule of law or the well-being of the American people. The Civil Rights Division used to investigate actual discrimination concerns to ensure all individuals are treated equally under the law, but they’re now focused on belittling the rights and humanity of LGBTQ+ communities.”

Democrat Illinois Senator Dick Durbin called the investigation a “sham,” saying, “I can save DOJ some time. Their investigators will find 36 Illinois school districts dedicated to providing their students with a good, well-rounded education.

“If the Trump Administration truly cared about supporting Illinois students and their education, it would reverse the decision to dismantle the Department of Education, finally support Head Start programs, and stop attacking Title I funding and the rights of LGBTQ+ students. Instead, this President is once again weaponizing DOJ to carry out a sham investigation against a state that did not vote for him in the 2024 election.”