Officials at the U.S. Department of Education's (DOE) Office for Civil Rights responded to a year-old complaint from a transgender student in a Chicago suburb this week, saying that the student's school was violating federal Title IX law by not allowing her to use the locker room that matches her gender identity, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) officials representing her case told MTV News.

John Knight, director of the LGBT and HIV project at ACLU of Illinois told MTV News that the student, who has been living openly as a girl for several years, requested to use the women's locker room to change, shower and store her things during gym class and the athletic activities she's a part of -- but was told by school officials that she could instead shower in a separate facility.

When the DOE found that this went against Title IX law for gender discrimination, Knight said officials at Township High School District 211 announced that they weren't going to comply.

"The district announced that they weren’t going to follow the law, basically," Knight said.

In a statement provided to MTV News, Township High School District 211 officials said they "protect student privacy over Office of Civil Rights mandate," maintaining that they wouldn't give transgender students "unrestricted" access to the locker rooms:

"After serious and lengthy consideration, the District will continue to provide private accommodations for transgender students to ensure a respectful school environment, and will not allow unrestricted access to its locker rooms as directed by OCR. The goal of the District in this matter is to protect the privacy rights of all students when changing clothes or showering before or after physical education and after-school activities, while also providing accommodations necessary to meet the unique needs of individual students. The District’s responsibility is to provide an environment conducive to learning for all of its 12,000+ students."

As this decision by the district still violates Title IX laws against discrimination based on gender, the statement said that "likely litigation and enforcement action, including the potential loss of federal education funds," may occur if they can't come to an agreement with the DOE.

The statement also says that the district "has supported — and continues to support — transgender students and their families, while always balancing the rights and concerns of all the students it serves," adding that they allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and play on the sports teams that match with their gender identities.

However, Knight says that the message sent to his client remains clear -- and far from supportive.

"I think it’s important to remember that the school is forcing our client to use an entirely separate facility — that’s painful to her; she doesn’t have a choice," Knight said. "It tells her that the school doesn’t welcome her as a student, treat her fairly and isn’t really there for her. It sends a very strong message to her that the school’s not there to protect her."