The state Civil Liberties Union filed an appeal with state Commissioner of Education Betty Rosa on Friday, Oct. 3, challenging the Massapequa School District’s enactment and enforcement of its resolution preventing trans students from using restrooms and locker rooms aligned with their gender identity.
At the district’s Sept. 9 Board of Education meeting, a resolution was passed which “mandates that all students shall be required to use facilities, including restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with the students’ sex as defined under Title IX and federal law,” according to school district documents.
The board then held a special meeting on Sept. 18 to pass a resolution, allowing the district’s superintendent “to enforce and carry out all of the requirements” from the mandate.
Emma Hulse, education counsel at the state Civil Liberties Union, said the resolution violates state law and is “an affront to our shared values.”
“The Massapequa School Board’s job is to protect and support the young people entrusted to their care. Instead, they are abusing their power and authority to target vulnerable students for who they are,” she said.
“Our priority has always been — and will continue to be — the safety, dignity, and well-being of all students in our care,” the Massapequa Board of Education said in a statement. “We intend to follow all applicable laws while also fulfilling our responsibility to provide a safe and respectful learning environment for every student and for our school community as a whole.”
The NYCLU said it filed the appeal on behalf of an unidentified transgender student who said they are being prevented from accessing school facilities because of the new policy.
The school board referenced several Supreme Court decisions and executive orders issued by the Trump administration when passing its resolution.
The president’s Jan. 20 executive order states that a person’s sex “shall refer to an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female” and “does not include the concept of gender identity.”
The board also said in its resolution that students who request alternative arrangements “shall be provided access to a designated gender-neutral facility, but shall not be permitted to use facilities designated for the opposite sex.”
State Attorney General Letitia James and the state Education Department issued a statement in February saying that schools must continue to comply with state law protections for trans students.
