The state Education Department has denied the Massapequa School District’s request for an extension to comply with a ban on Native American mascots, names and imagery, citing a lack of “good cause” effort, state officials said in a letter Friday.
“The Massapequa Union Free School District has not demonstrated good cause within the meaning of the regulations,” the letter said.
The letter was sent from the state Education Department to representatives of the school district. It said the district had not shown it was committed to making a change, and instead, has shown “no intention of complying with these regulations.”
The letter specifically highlighted the “Save The Chiefs” fundraiser that was held at the district’s high school on June 7, where roughly $13,000 had been raised to support the district’s legal battle against the state.
“This decision by the state Education Department does nothing to change the underlying reality: Gov. Kathy Hochul’s ban on Native American names and imagery is blatantly discriminatory and a clear violation of civil rights,” the district’s Board of Education said in a statement regarding the decision. “We remain confident that we will prevail in federal court and see this unconstitutional regulation struck down.”
The letter says the district is free to submit a future request that shows further progress in moving away from the Chiefs.
The recent events come as the state Education Department is under scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Justice.
The U.S. Department of Education announced on Tuesday, June 17, that it is referring its investigation into the state Department of Education and state Board of Regents for their refusal to overturn a ban placed on Native American mascots, names and logos to the U.S. Department of Justice for enforcement.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said that entities had disrespected the residents of Massapequa and that the federal agency would not allow Native Americans to be discriminated against.
McMahon visited Massapequa High School in May to personally announce that the Education Department’s investigation had found the state violated the Civil Rights Act. She said during her visit that her department was going to give the state DOE time to comply with their demands before being referred to the Justice Department for enforcement proceedings and potentially losing federal funding.
The Department of Education website said the state Education Department must rescind the part of the educational regulation prohibiting the use of indigenous names, mascots, and logos by New York public schools, issue a memorandum to all local education agencies informing them that they may adopt a name, mascot, and logo consistent with the requirements of Title VI; and issue letters of apology to Indigenous tribes, acknowledging that the board violated Title VI by discriminating against Native Americans.e
McMahon called the Education Department’s request in the resolution “reasonable.”
The Department of Education said the state DOE rejected the agreement.
Schools were originally tasked with establishing a new mascot by the end of the 2022-23 school year after the ban was announced in April 2023. The deadline was later changed to June 2025.
The Wantagh and Connetquot School Districts recently announced that they received a one-year extension on their deadline to change their names away from the “Warriors.”
The Wyandanch School District, also previously named the “Warriors,” announced that it was changing its name to the “Wolves.”
The four school districts had jointly filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s policy. The lawsuit was dismissed in federal court in March but has been appealed by Massapequa.
The Education Department announced in April that it was investigating whether the state’s threat to withhold funding if the Massapequa School District did not drop its Native American mascot constitutes discrimination on the basis of race and national origin.
