Two Will County public school districts are among 36 under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights division.

But it could be a waste of time.

The DOJ has tagged Crete-Monee School District 201U and Will County School District 92 in Lockport for investigation “to determine whether they have included sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI) content in any class for grades pre-K-12.”

Dr. Kara Coglianese, superintendent for C-M schools, told the Farmers Weekly Review last week that there’s nothing to see there.

“No, that content is not in any of the curriculum or instructional units,” she said, adding, “From what I understand, almost all Illinois school districts received this letter to audit our school curriculum. We will comply with the Department of Justice’s request to review our health curriculum once they provide further instructions.”

District 92 officials did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

The DOJ announced the inquiries in a press release on April 30, saying that they “will examine whether the schools have notified parents of their right to opt their children out of such instruction. The investigation will also assess whether the Illinois School Districts limit access to single-sex intimate spaces (such as bathrooms and locker rooms) and girls’ sports teams based on biological sex.”

“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 K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“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.”

According to the press release, “The investigations will examine whether these Illinois School Districts, which are recipients of hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer funding, are adhering to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Supreme Court’s extensive precedents on parental rights as recently reiterated in Mirabelli v. Bonta and Mahmoud v. Taylor.”

The Farmers Weekly Review asked the DOJ Public Access Officer how the districts were singled out for analysis, if the probe will be on-site at the schools or online, and if school systems in any other states would be included.

She declined to comment.

A statement from Governor JB Pritzker’s office called the investigations “another sham.”

“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 statement said.

“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.”

The Illinois School Districts under investigation include:

The press release notes that the “Civil Rights Division has not reached any conclusions about the subject matter of the investigations.”