The U.S. Department of Education informed school officials in New York City, Chicago and Fairfax County, Va., on Tuesday that it could withhold more than $67 million in federal magnet-school grant funding unless the districts come into compliance with federal civil rights laws.
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor sent letters to New York City Public Schools Chair Gregory Faulkner, Chicago Board of Education President Sean Harden and Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid, warning that their districts’ grant applications will not be certified if alleged violations are not remedied by 5 p.m. Friday.
Trainor said the Office for Civil Rights is “deeply concerned” about New York City’s guidelines for transgender and gender-expansive students, which the letter characterizes as authorizing sex-based discrimination in violation of Title IX. The Education Department’s letter cites provisions that allow students access to restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their asserted gender identity, permit participation on sports teams aligned with that identity and require schools to accommodate gender-fluid students’ asserted identities during overnight trips.
The department argued those policies could result in male students who identify as female having “unqualified access to female intimate spaces” and said such practices could deny other students equal access to educational benefits or create hostile educational environments. Trainor asked the city to amend the guidelines and rescind any policies deemed to violate Title IX. The Education Department said about $15 million in funding is at stake for New York next year and roughly $36 million for the remaining duration of the grants.
Fairfax County received a similar letter concerning Regulation 2603.2, which the department says allows gender-expansive and transgender students the option of using restrooms or locker rooms consistent with their gender identity. Trainor noted that Fairfax had disclosed it was the subject of a lawsuit in which students alleged the regulation violated free speech, free exercise, due process and equal protection rights, and he said the district must rescind the regulation or face loss of about $3.4 million next year and roughly $13.7 million in total magnet-grant funding.
Chicago officials were told to abandon a “Black Students Success Plan” that the department described as racially exclusionary and in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The letter contends the program is designed exclusively for Black students and Black educators and is not available to white or Asian American students. The Education Department also directed Chicago to rescind policies that allow transgender students access to sex-separated facilities and permit them to participate in sports corresponding with asserted gender identity. The department said about $5.8 million for next year and roughly $17.5 million in total are at risk for Chicago.
All three districts were given until 5 p.m. Friday to notify the Education Department of steps they will take to come into compliance or face certification denials for their magnet-school grant applications. The department did not immediately provide detailed public explanations beyond the contents of the letters, and the districts did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The department’s actions revive long-running federal debates over how Title IX applies to transgender students and the permissibility of race-conscious or race-specific initiatives in public schools. Federal civil-rights statutes such as Title IX and Title VI have been the subject of shifting guidance and litigation in recent years, with administrations taking differing approaches to enforcement and interpretation.
The threatened funding covers grant periods that support magnet-school programs intended to promote diversity and specialized curricula. Withholding certification of grant applications would prevent the districts from receiving designated federal magnet funds, potentially affecting program operations and budgets for the coming school year and beyond.
The letters represent enforcement steps by the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which has authority to investigate and require corrective actions when recipients of federal education funds are found to violate civil-rights laws. The department’s enforcement decisions can prompt additional litigation from districts, parents or advocacy groups challenging either the policies under review or the department’s interpretation of federal law.
Officials in the Education Department and the affected school districts could refine their positions before the Friday deadline, and any formal denial of grant certification would likely trigger further administrative and legal proceedings.