Peoria Standard

As debate over transgender participation in high school sports intensifies across the country, one key figure in Illinois remains notably silent: Dunlap High School Principal and Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board Member Katie Cazalet.

Cazalet, who represents Division 4 on the IHSA Board of Directors, did not respond to a request for comment regarding the organization’s refusal to comply with a federal executive order banning biological males from participating in female sports categories. 

She joins nine other IHSA board members—including fellow Dunlap High School employee Dr. Scott Adreon—in declining to speak publicly on the issue.

The silence follows President Donald Trump’s executive order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which asserts that allowing biological males to compete in female sports undermines fairness, safety and equal opportunity. It directs the Department of Education to enforce Title IX by ensuring girls’ sports are reserved for biological females, and threatens to rescind federal funds from non-compliant institutions.

While public opinion appears to support the federal stance—with a New York Times/Ipsos poll showing 79% of Americans opposed to transgender males who identify as female from competing in girls' and womens' sports—IHSA board members, including Cazalet, have refused to discuss the issue.

The IHSA confirmed it has not held a recent board vote on its transgender athlete policy, despite growing pressure from lawmakers and advocacy groups.  

“There has been no recent vote by the IHSA Board on this matter,” Matt Troha, Assistant Executive Director of the IHSA, told Prairie State Wire. “Per our letter, there is a law in Illinois that has existed for many years that allows participation by transgender student-athletes in IHSA State Series (post-season) competition. President Trump’s Executive Order obviously conflicts with that, and we have reached out to state lawmakers seeking clarification on remaining in legal compliance.”

The IHSA’s statement came in response to a letter signed by 40 GOP legislators requesting clarity on the IHSA’s stance in regard to Trump’s executive order. 

Cazalet previously served as Dunlap’s athletic director, a role in which she managed her husband, head football coach Brett Cazalet. Her silence, along with that of her colleagues, has sparked concern among those who believe board members should answer for the IHSA’s defiance of federal policy.

Federal Title IX investigations have unfolded in Illinois as of late, including at Deerfield Middle School, where female students allege they were forced to change in front of a biological male transgender student in a school locker room.

Critics say this silence echoes the association’s behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it swiftly implemented state-mandated restrictions, even when the science behind those measures was unclear or disputed.

“We’ve seen this story before,” State Rep. Regan Deering (R-Macon) told the Macon Reporter. “The Governor forced unlawful mask mandates on our schools, and it took brave families filing lawsuits to win back local control. Now it’s girls’ sports and locker room privacy.” 

In a recent update, the White House revised its COVID-19 guidance, acknowledging that public health officials failed to provide evidence that masks effectively protected Americans from the virus. The administration also criticized prior health directives for lacking transparency and contributing to widespread public distrust.

During the height of the pandemic, Illinois high school cheerleaders were forced to perform in silence—barred from shouting, chanting or singing under state health rules. 

IHSA Assistant Executive Director Susie Knoblauch called the measures “bizarre,” likening routines to pantomimes. 

Some schools, including Dunlap High School, opted to continue cheerleading under those constraints.

Cazalet acknowledged the policy's impact, saying it "kind of takes away from what they do," but confirmed that her school would continue to allow cheerleaders at basketball games. 

The IHSA deferred a decision on that matter as well. 

Cazalet, then Dunlap’s athletic director, publicly supported the mask mandates and other health protocols, even extending them to outdoor sports like girls’ soccer and golf. In a student-run podcast, she defended the effort to adjust school activities for COVID compliance, saying, “You don't know how something's gonna work until you try it, and then you figure out what you did wrong and try and do it better the next time.”