Three of the nation\u2019s largest public school districts stand to lose $24 million after missing a Trump administration deadline to agree to change policies supporting transgender students, officials said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Education Department\u2019s Office for Civil Rights had given New York City Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools and Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia until Tuesday to agree to stop giving students access to locker rooms and restrooms corresponding with their gender identity or risk losing funding for specialty magnet schools. <\/p>\n
In letters to the districts on Sept. 16, the Education Department\u2019s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, Craig Trainor, said the practice violates Title IX, which forbids discrimination based on sex in education. Because the districts did not agree by Tuesday to take remedial action detailed in Trainor\u2019s letters, the department said, Trainor will not certify that they are in compliance with federal civil rights law, making them ineligible for the grants.<\/p>\n
Millions in grants at stake<\/p>\n
Fairfax County schools will lose $3.4 million in Magnet Schools Assistance Program funding in the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. About $5.8 million will be withheld from Chicago schools and community school districts in New York City will lose about $15 million, according to the Education Department.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Department will not rubber-stamp civil rights compliance for New York, Chicago, and Fairfax while they blatantly discriminate against students based on race and sex,\u201d department spokesperson Julie Hartman said via email. \u201cThese are public schools, funded by hardworking American families, and parents have every right to expect an excellent education \u2014 not ideological indoctrination masquerading as `inclusive\u2019 policy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Additional policies under scrutiny<\/p>\n
Along with restricting access to restrooms and locker rooms, the department also demanded that New York City and Chicago schools issue public statements saying they will not allow males to compete in female athletic programs.<\/p>\n
Chicago schools were further told to abolish a program that provides remedial academic resources to Black students, which Trainor labeled \u201ctextbook racial discrimination.\u201d School officials estimated a total of about $8 million would be lost for initiatives that have expanded staffing, technology and enrichment opportunities like field trips and after-school programming.<\/p>\n
Chicago education officials faulted the department for failing to provide evidence that its students were being harmed and said it was acting outside of its own procedures for complaints.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mission, programs and policies not only meet our obligation to students, but they also plainly comply with the law,\u201d acting general counsel Elizabeth Barton said in the district\u2019s response to Trainor.<\/p>\n
The Education Department denied requests from New York City and Chicago for more time to respond to the demands. It was unclear whether Fairfax County schools made such a request. The district did not respond to requests for information.<\/p>\n
In his letter to New York City schools, Trainor cited several of the district\u2019s policies, including one saying that transgender students cannot be required to use an alternative facility, such as a single-occupancy bathroom, instead of a regular restroom. That means trans students \u201care given unqualified access to female intimate spaces,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n
Each of the districts was told they would lose funding unless they agreed to rescind policies that violate Title IX and adopt \u201cbiology-based definitions of the words male and female\u201d in practices relating to Title IX.<\/p>\n
\u201cCutting this funding \u2014 which invests in specialized curricula, afterschool education, and summer learning \u2014 harms not only the approximately 8,500 students this program currently benefits, but all of our students from underserved communities,\u201d New York City schools said in a statement. \u201cIf the federal government pulls this funding, that means canceled courses and shrinking enrichment. That\u2019s a consequence our city can\u2019t afford and our students don\u2019t deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Attention from New York City mayoral candidates<\/p>\n
The topic came up on the campaign trail in New York City\u2019s contentious mayoral election in recent days. <\/p>\n
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, raised eyebrows when he said at an unrelated news conference that he would like to look into changing the policy if it \u201cis allowing boys and girls to use the same facility at the same time.\u201d The remarks came days after the Trump administration\u2019s letter, though he has insisted they were unrelated.<\/p>\n
Adams\u2019 comments were swiftly condemned by the race\u2019s Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani, who called them \u201ccompletely at odds with the values of our city.\u201d<\/p>\n