CHICAGO — School officials in a suburban Chicago district said Friday they may back out of a newly minted deal with the U.S. Department of Education allowing a transgender student to use a girls’ locker room, over a dispute about a hypothetical: What would happen if the girl decided against using the privacy curtains she’s agreed to use?

Less than two days after the school board approved the settlement, Township High School District 211 Superintendent Daniel Cates issued a statement condemning a federal official for how she portrayed his description of it.

Cates had said if the student doesn’t use privacy curtains when changing or showering, she won’t be granted unrestricted access to the locker room. Federal officials countered that the agreement does not require her to use a privacy curtain, although the student has said she will do so.

District officials “are outraged by the mischaracterizations in the press by Catherine Lhamon of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR),” Cates said.

The office “acted in bad faith,” so the district will convene an emergency board meeting to discuss actions, “including the potential retraction of the agreement,” Cates said.

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