Three school districts are liable to lose millions in federal funds after missing a Trump administration deadline to implement bathroom policy changes that would reverse efforts intended to help transgender students.
Public schools in Chicago, New York, and Fairfax County, Va., could lose $24 million for not complying with Education Department directives to force students to use bathrooms and locker rooms in accordance with their sex assigned at birth.
Acting Assistant Education Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor sent letters to the three school districts on Sept. 16 giving them a deadline of this Tuesday to carry out changes.
“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,” Julie Hartman, a spokesperson for the department said in a statement to The Hill.
“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. If these entities are willing to risk federal funding to continue their illegal activity, that decision falls squarely on them,” she added.
Approximately $5.8 million could be withheld from Chicago schools, while Fairfax County schools are set to lose $3.4 million used to fund their Magnet School Assistance Program funding in the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, The Associated Press reported.
New York City will lose about $15 million, according to the Education Department.
“Our mission, programs, and policies not only meet our obligation to students, but they also plainly comply with the law,” Chicago acting general counsel Elizabeth Barton told AP in the district’s response to Trainor.
New York City school officials said funding revocation will harm students who are already struggling.
“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.”