PALATINE, Ill. – Apparently there is no room for compromise when it comes to allowing transgender students full access to the facilities of their choice – even locker rooms, where other students shower and change.

Officials at Township High School District 211 in Palatine, Illinois have gone out of their way to accommodate transgender students. They give them full access to the restrooms of their choice, allow them to play on male or female athletic teams, and respect the alternative names they choose.

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But in 2013 school officials drew the line when a boy who is transgender requested permission to use the girls’ locker room. Officials were willing to compromise by putting up privacy curtains in the room and requiring the student to change behind them, based on the safe assumption that some girls would be offended by having to change with a biological male.

The student rejected that option and filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The DOE recently ruled in the student’s favor, claiming that the school district is in violation of Title IX, a section of federal law that prohibits gender-based discrimination in public schools.

One possible sanction against the district would be cutting off about $6 million in annual federal financial assistance.

School officials are obviously concerned about that possibility, but believe they have taken the proper action for all students involved, and suspect the outcome of their situation could be precedent-setting for schools throughout the nation.

So they are willing to stand their ground, even if that means the case ends up in court, according to Superintendent Daniel Cates.

“They are claiming we violated a law, we believe firmly that we did not,” Cates told EAGnews. “Our position is one that respects the rights of all. We recognize the precedent-setting potential of this situation, but our primary interest is protecting the privacy of our local students. This principle is one we are prepared to defend through the full legal process.”

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Like millions of Americans, District 211 officials find themselves torn between empathy for the emotional struggles of transgender students and the right to privacy and dignity for the vast majority of students.

“We recognize that what people are on the outside is not always a fair measure of what they are on the inside,” Cates said. “But as school administrators, we can’t ignore who we are on the outside when it comes to anatomy in open locker rooms filled with teens.

“Our position is that while we can guarantee privacy for all students in restrooms, we can’t do that in a locker room. We tried to find a balance. The (locker room) curtains are something that’s available for other students, as well.”

Cates stressed that the federal government has not explicitly threatened to take financial assistance away from the district, but admitted that is one potential enforcement action.

“These funds are very important to us,” he said. “They fund services for our most at-risk students.”

Cates said the district was given 30 days to comply with a “letter of findings” from the DOE, and school officials are still hoping for some sort of compromise.

That doesn’t seem likely, based on the published comments of Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education.

She refers to the student in question as a female, even though that student is a biological male. If the government insists that males are females and vice-versa, just because they say so, the potential for legal disagreement is infinite.

“Unfortunately, Township High School District 211 is not following the law because the district continues to deny a female student the right to use the girls’ locker room,” Lhamon was quoted as saying by Yahoo Health. “The district can provide access to this student while also respecting all students’ privacy. We encourage the district to comply with the law and resolve this case.”

Most school districts faced with similar dilemmas seem to be caving to federal demands and allowing transgender students full access to all facilities. Many are doing so based on advice from their attorneys, who apparently tell them that they must comply to remain within the  boundaries of the law.

But a few districts around the nation, like District 211, are publicly standing their ground, despite the potential loss of crucial government funding. They agree with conservative attorneys who claim there is no language in Title IX addressing the choice of school restroom and shower facilities for transgender students.