Three of the largest public school districts in the U.S. could lose $24 million after missing a deadline set by the Trump administration to modify policies supporting transgender students, officials announced on Wednesday.
The U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights had required New York City Schools, Chicago Public Schools, and Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia to agree by Tuesday to cease allowing students to use locker rooms and restrooms that align with their gender identity, threatening to cut funding for specialty magnet schools if they did not comply.
In letters sent on September 16, Craig Trainor, the Education Department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, stated that the policy contradicts Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education. As the districts did not agree by the set deadline to the remedial actions described in Trainor’s letters, the department noted, Trainor will not confirm their compliance with federal civil rights law, rendering them ineligible for the grants.
Millions in grants at stake
Fairfax County schools are set to lose $3.4 million from the Magnet School Assistance Program in the upcoming fiscal year beginning on October 1. The Chicago schools will forfeit approximately $5.8 million, while around $15 million will be withheld from community school districts in New York City, according to the Education Department.
“The Department will not rubber-stamp civil rights compliance for New York, Chicago, and Fairfax while they blatantly discriminate against students based on race and sex,” department spokesperson Julie Hartman stated in an email. “These are public schools, funded by hardworking American families, and parents have every right to expect an excellent education—not ideological indoctrination masquerading as ‘inclusive’ policy.”
Additional policies under scrutiny
In addition to limiting restroom and locker room access, the department also required that New York City and Chicago schools make public announcements stating they will not permit males to participate in female athletic programs.
Chicago schools were further told to abolish a program that provides remedial academic resources to Black students, which Trainor labeled “textbook racial discrimination.” School officials estimated a total of about $8 million would be lost for initiatives that have expanded staffing, technology and enrichment opportunities like field trips and after-school programming.
Chicago education officials faulted the department for failing to provide evidence that its students were being harmed and said it was acting outside of its own procedures for complaints.
“Our mission, programs, and policies not only meet our obligation to students, but they also plainly comply with the law,” acting general counsel Elizabeth Barton said in the district’s response to Trainor.
The Education Department denied requests from New York City and Chicago for more time to respond to the demands. It was unclear whether Fairfax County schools made such a request. The district did not respond to requests for information.
In his letter to New York City schools, Trainor cited several of the district’s policies, including one saying that transgender students cannot be required to use an alternative facility, such as a single-occupancy bathroom, instead of a regular restroom. That means trans students “are given unqualified access to female intimate spaces,” he wrote.
Each of the districts was told they would lose funding unless they agreed to rescind policies that violate Title IX and adopt “biology-based definitions of the words male and female” in practices relating to Title IX.
“Cutting this funding — which invests in specialized curricula, afterschool education, and summer learning — harms not only the approximately 8,500 students this program currently benefits, but all of our students from underserved communities,” New York City schools said in a statement. “If the federal government pulls this funding, that means canceled courses and shrinking enrichment. That’s a consequence our city can’t afford and our students don’t deserve.”
Attention from New York City mayoral candidates
The topic came up on the campaign trail in New York City’s contentious mayoral election in recent days.
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, raised eyebrows when he said at an unrelated news conference that he would like to look into changing the policy if it “is allowing boys and girls to use the same facility at the same time.” The remarks came days after the Trump administration’s letter, though he has insisted they were unrelated.
Adams’ comments were swiftly condemned by the race’s Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani, who called them “completely at odds with the values of our city.”
Adams said this week that he would like to change the city’s policy — but also that he did not have the power. The state’s human rights law also allows students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity.
On Wednesday, Adams’ office said the administration was reviewing options, including litigation.
“The federal government is threatening to defund our children’s education as a tool to change policies it doesn’t like,” City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus said in a statement. “While Mayor Adams may not agree with every rule or policy, we will always stand up to protect critical resources for our city’s 1 million students.”
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Contributing to this report were Associated Press reporter Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York, and AP Education Writer Collin Binkley in Washington.
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