The Wantagh School District has been granted a one-year extension by the state Education Department to fully comply with its mandate to ban Native American mascots, depictions and names.
Wantagh will now have until June 30, 2026, to change its name from the “Warrior.” The state 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 district said it will continue to operate as the “Warriors” during the 2025-26 school year and that the district is committed to finding a way to keep its name.
The Wantagh School District’s Board of Education provided an update to the community on Friday, June 6, after making the announcement at its meeting Thursday night.
“The extension granted to our district is significant as it allows us more time not only for thoughtful implementation if needed, but also for the legal proceedings concerning our appeal to reach a resolution,” the board said in a letter.
The Wantagh School District, alongside three other school districts, filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s policy. In March, a federal judge ruled in favor of the state’s Board of Regents and dismissed the suit.
The school districts involved were Connetquot, Massapequa, Wantagh and Wyandanch. Wantagh and Wyandanch initially joined the lawsuit together in order to mitigate costs, as they both use the “Warrior” name, according to Wantagh Superintendent John McNamara.
The judge said the districts failed to provide enough evidence and that they “lack capacity” to sue under the 14th Amendment and other acts.
“Because school district plaintiffs, school board plaintiffs, and individual board member plaintiffs suing in their official capacity lack capacity to assert a First Amendment violation, the court does not address their overbreadth claims,” the court ruling said.
The district is pursuing an appeal in federal court challenging the mandate to change its name, and it said it is waiting on that decision to see where its next course of action lies.
In addition, McNamara said the district has a Mascot Advisory Committee, which has weighed potential future actions by the district. McNamara said an overwhelming majority of community members previously wanted to keep the name. He said the district had sent multiple proposals to the state, dating back to 2023.
The Massapequa School District has taken the majority of the spotlight in fighting the mascot ban.
President Donald Trump personally recognized Massapequa in April, as he posted a picture of himself holding a Chiefs T-shirt and saying, “I agree with the people in Massapequa, Long Island, who are fighting furiously to keep the Massapequa Chiefs logo on their Teams and School” on social media.
The U.S. Department of Education then launched a probe into the state’s Education Department, saying the Office for Civil Rights would 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.
The head of the Education Secretary Linda McMahon spoke at Massapequa High School on Friday, May 30, saying the investigation found the state did violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and demanding that the state drop its ban.
Members of the Wantagh School District and Board of Education were in attendance for the press conference.
The Wantgah Board of Education said in its letter that it is closely monitoring the situation in Massapequa and the ensuing dialogue between federal and state education authorities, as the outcome of the federal review could have implications for its school district as well as others.
“We want to assure the community that while we await the outcome of our appeal and the intervention by the U.S. Department of Education, we are also continuing our due diligence in planning for potential compliance with the regulation,” the board said in its letter.
Like the Chiefs, the “Warriors” name is also used by a professional sports team. The Golden State Warriors of the NBA were founded in 1946 and utilized Native American imagery until 1969.
