“In Massapequa, three things are certain: death, taxes, and ‘Once a Chief, always a Chief.’”
The Massapequa School District sent a letter to Linda McMahon, the head of the U.S. Department of Education, on Monday, May 5, beginning with the line referring to its Native American mascot.
The district is seeking the Trump Administration’s help in its legal battle with the state of New York, which has barred public schools from using native American names, mascot and logos.
The district’s letter asks U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in the Massapequa School District’s litigation.
The letter, which was signed by school district attorney Oliver Roberts, also asks for the U.S. Department of Education to institute federal funding cuts to the state and reallocate the money directly to school districts penalized by the state for not complying with its mascot ban.
“This approach not only restores fairness and protects local school districts from unjust financial retaliation but also serves as a critical check on New York State’s unconstitutional overreach through Part 123—affirming that federally protected rights cannot be undermined by discriminatory state policies,” Robert said in the letter.
The district also calls for the federal department to create a regulation prohibiting statewide discriminatory bans on community symbols in public schools.
The district said it has until May 12 to file an amended complaint in its ongoing litigation against the State of New York. It also has until June 30 to comply with the state’s requirement that it discontinue the use of its mascot or risk losing state funding or face the removal of duly elected board members.
Roberts said Massapequa Board of Education President Kerry Wachter filed a formal Office of Civil Rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education outlining what he called the widespread Title VI violations resulting from the implementation of Part 123.
The U.S. Department of Education has launched a probe into New York State’s Department of Education and Board of Regents on Friday, April 25, for an alleged violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
The announcement said the Office for Civil Rights will look into whether the state’s threat to withhold funding if the Massapequa School District does not drop its Native American mascot constitutes discrimination on the basis of race and national origin.
“While New York chooses to prioritize erasing Native Americans, their rich history, and their deep connection to the state, it is requiring schools to divert time and resources away from what really matters: educating our students,” McMahon said about the probe.
The Department of Education’s action came shortly after President Donald Trump declared his support for the Massapequa School District in a social media post.
The Massapequa School District’s mascot is a Native American chief, including a district logo with the letter “M” adorning a headdress.
Oliver Roberts, the counsel for the school district and the board of education, wrote in the letter that the stakes of this case extend beyond Massapequa.
“If New York State succeeds in enforcing this unconstitutional mandate, other states will follow suit and erase our history and traditions,” he wrote.
“In Massapequa, we do not—and will not—back down,” Roberts said.
The Board of Regents unanimously voted in April 2023 to ban the use of Native American mascots, team names, logos and depictions. Schools were originally tasked with establishing a new mascot by the end of the 2022-23 school year, but this was later changed to June 2025.
The policy was also extended to prohibit the use of Native American iconography in school names and logos.
Court documents show the Massapequa Board of Education passed a resolution to eliminate their use of indigenous names, mascots or logos by the end of the 2024–2025 school year.
The Massapequa School District, along with the Wantagh, Connetquot, and Wyandanch school districts, also filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s policy.
In March, a federal judge ruled in favor of the state Board of Regents and dismissed the lawsuit.
