The Massapequa School District has challenged the state Education Department’s decision to put a stay order on the district’s policy that prevents transgender students from using restrooms and locker rooms aligned with their gender identity.
Massapequa Board of Education President Kerry Wachter announced the action at the board’s Tuesday, Oct. 21, meeting, saying she believes the law is on the district’s side and that the district will not be intimidated.
“I want to be clear: we’re not discriminating. Rather, we seek to address the needs of all students and ensure that every child in our school feels safe, supported, and respected,” she said. “ We have taken this legal action because we believe it’s the right thing to do for all students.”
The district filed a federal action for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief in response to Betty Rosa, the state education commissioner, writing on Oct. 14 that the district cannot enforce its newly adopted policy when she issued a stay order in response to the New York Civil Liberties Union’s appeal of the district’s policy.
“The people of New York State have codified the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression,” a letter from the Education Department said.
The letter also said the stay is “pending an ultimate determination of the appeal.”
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.
At the district’s Oct. 9 meeting, Wachter read a message from the board before public comment, saying the board’s policy is “clear and rooted in law.”
The public comment period at the Oct. 9 meeting was full of applause, boos, and opinions both in favor and against the new policy.
The Oct. 21 meeting had a similar mix of opinions.
“It’s not about hate, it’s about boundaries and comfort,” one woman named Christina said.
Christa Jensen criticized the board’s decision, saying it used a national political battle to put “every child in the crossfire.”
“The hard road is to build a compromise before a crisis. Instead of taking that path, this board chose the easy road of a simple vote after one closed-door meeting. You say you want to protect students. You have put us at risk of losing state funding, which will harm every student,” she said.
Lynn Russo, a 16-year Massapequa resident who is running for Nassau County Legislator, offered a solution to the board.
“Take the money that we’re spending on lawyers on stupid issues and use that to renovate our locker room so every single child that goes to the gym can get changed in their own private dressing room,” she said.
Russo said that if the board doesn’t think it could happen, she would run for the school board and “make it happen.”
Multiple current students also spoke during the public comment, all of them in favor of the district’s policy.
Jenny Isaacs, a parent and licensed clinical psychologist, followed the several student statements by pointing out that not many students have spoken against the district’s decision, saying anti-LBGTQ+ bullying is common in Massapequa.
“We as a caring community are ignoring the pain and alienation that trans and other LGBTQ+ students feel every day as they walk through the halls and get teased and threatened,” she said.
The board had issued a statement when the appeal was filed, saying its priority is the “safety, dignity, and well-being of all students in our care,” and that the board intends to follow the law while also fulfilling its responsibility to “provide a safe and respectful learning environment for every student and for our school community as a whole.”
The NYCLU said it had filed the appeal on behalf of an unidentified transgender student who had 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 resolutions in September.
The Jan. 20 executive order states that a person’s sex “shall refer to an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female.”
The board said within 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.
