New Trier Township High School District 203 denied Parents Defending Education’s Freedom of Information Act request by merely stating that the request was “unduly burdensome”—without any further explanation.
Case Details
Case Status
Settled
Location
Illinois
Date Filed
April 10, 2024
On April 10, 2024, Parents Defending Education (PDE) sued New Trier Township High School District 203 in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. PDE had asked the district for records about its decision to deny a student activity honoring Holocaust Remembrance Day. The district refused, saying only that the request was “unduly burdensome,” with no further explanation. PDE argues that this is not enough under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, which puts the burden on the government to justify withholding records.
PDE asks the court to declare that the district broke the law, order it to release the records right away, find that it willfully failed to follow the law, and impose penalties.
Read the complaint below: