Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
New York City schools sued federal education officials on Thursday over their decision to withhold $47 million in promised grants because of guidelines for schools supporting transgender students.
City officials said the federal agency led by the Secretary of Education Linda McMahon Cut funding without required notice or hearing after deciding that policies allowing transgender students to play sports and use bathrooms that match their gender identity violate Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex in education.
education departmentIn a September letter, a deadline was set for New York City Public Schools to change policies or lose current and future funding for 19 special magnet schools.
“Existing policies mean that male students who identify as female or transgender are given undeserved access to female intimate spaces,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a letter.
New York City was one of several school districts, including Chicago fairfax county In VirginiaTo receive such letters. New York City filed its lawsuit in federal court manhattan,
School officials say New York City is fully compliant with Title IX and that the federal department’s “novel interpretation” conflicts with state and city laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender.
“The U.S. DOE’s threat to cut millions of dollars in magnet funding unless we rescind our protections for transgender and gender expansive students is contrary to federal, state and local law and, importantly, contrary to our values as New York City public schools,” Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said in a news release.
The 48-page lawsuit asks that the decision to withdraw the grant be reversed.
“The Department sees no merit in this lawsuit,” a Department of Education spokesperson responded via email.
The statement said the magnet school grant program “requires certification of civil rights compliance, which we clearly cannot do in the face of NYC’s continued determination to violate the rights of female students under Title IX.”