Kerry Wacther, the Massapequa School District’s Board of Education president, along with two parents from Rockville Centre and a school board member from Schenectady County, have filed suit against Letitia James, the state’s Attorney General, Betty Rosa, the state’s education secretary and a slew of top officials from the state Board of Regents, claiming that school board members are being forced to censor themselves, as well as members of the public, on issues involving transgender students.
The 40-page complaint was filed on Tuesday, Dec. 9, in federal court in the Northern District. It comes as the Massapequa School District has been attempting to uphold its policy that prevents transgender students from using restrooms and locker rooms aligned with their gender identity.
The suit claims that state officials “have threatened to remove from office school board members from any district across New York for publicly supporting sex-separated interscholastic sports and school facilities, or for using pronouns that correspond to biological sex at public school board meetings,” according to court documents.
The lawsuit claims that school board members need to “self-censor” and “shut down parent speech” as it alleges that state officials “threaten them with removal for merely allowing parents or other community members to speak the same viewpoints, purportedly ‘misgender’ students or question the ‘legitimacy of students’ gender identity,” according to court documents.
In a May letter, James and Rosa warned that school board members could be removed if they engage in or condone harassment, bullying and violation of students’ privacy rights.
That came after James and the state Education Department had issued a statement in February saying that schools must continue to comply with state law protections for trans students.
The lawsuit seeks to declare that the alleged threats made in the May letter towards school board members are unconstitutional and that financial rewards are not warranted, according to court documents.
At the Massapequa School District’s Sept. 9 Board of Education meeting, a resolution was passed that “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.
The board 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.”
Betty Rosa, the state education commissioner, wrote 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 district challenged Rosa’s decision, with Wachter announcing at the Oct. 21 meeting that the district filed a federal action for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief, saying she believes the law is on the district’s side and that the district will not be intimidated.
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.
Public comment periods at recent Massapequa Board of Education meetings had been strong-hearted, with people either strongly opposing the policy or voicing their support for it.
The Locust Valley School District also attempted to create a new gender policy similar to Massapequa’s, which was also halted by Rosa’s office.
