New York City Public Schools sued the U.S. Department of Education over its move to cut $47 million in promised grants in response to the schools' policies regarding transgender students. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Under the policies, "male students who identify as female or transgender are given unqualified access to female intimate spaces," Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the agency, said in a letter.
Several other school districts, including in Chicago and Fairfax County, Virginia, received similar letters.
New York City school officials affirm that they are fully compliant with Title IX and that the federal department's "novel interpretation" contradicts state and city laws against sex-based discrimination.
"U.S. DOE's threat to cut off tens of millions of dollars in magnet funding unless we canceled our protections for transgender and gender-expansive students is contrary to federal, state and local law and, just as importantly, our values as New York City Public Schools," Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said in a news release.
The Education Department said the agency "sees no merit in this lawsuit." (Istock/AndreyPopov)
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The Massapequa School District enacted a policy last month prohibiting transgender students from using bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identities rather than biological sex.
The district said after the commissioner's order that it will continue to offer a gender-neutral locker room and bathroom option to "any student who will be more comfortable using such a space."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nyc-schools-sue-education-department-nearly-50m-grant-cuts-due-transgender-policies