Locust Valley district adopts transgender bathroom policy, at least the second on Long Island to do so
The Locust Valley middle and high school. Credit: Rick Kopstein
The Locust Valley school district is mandating its students use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their biological sex, rather than gender identity — making the North Shore district at least the second on Long Island to adopt such policy.
The seven-member school board voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a resolution that changed an existing district policy, which said transgender or gender nonconforming students could use those spaces consistent with their “expressed gender identity.”
The new policy, which states students are not allowed to use a bathroom or locker room designated for the opposite sex, also applies to sports participation, the resolution said.
“The Resolution reflects this Board’s time-honored tradition of providing a safe, respectful and supportive environment for all students while adhering to all applicable laws,” the board said in an emailed statement Thursday.
School board president George Vasiliou, a father of “a couple" of daughters, said before the vote Wednesday night he had “struggled with this enormously,” according to a video of the meeting.
“Regardless of which way we go, we will upset and disappoint members of our community,” he said, referring to himself and his colleagues on the board. “We will either be considered cowardly, as we've been called; we will be considered spineless, not caring about boys and girls. And on the other side, we will be labeled transphobic and homophobic.”
JP O'Hare, a spokesman for the state Department of Education, called Locust Valley’s resolution “materially indistinguishable” from one adopted by the Massapequa school board last month. Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa earlier this week issued a stay of the Massapequa resolution, preventing the district from enforcing the policy "pending an ultimate determination" of an appeal filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the parents of a transgender child.
O'Hare said Thursday the education department will reach out to Locust Valley “in short order.”
As laid out in the Locust Valley resolution, which Vasiliou read at the meeting, the board was put in an "impossible" position between conflicting federal and state mandates.
The resolution cited President Donald Trump’s executive order, issued in January, “to recognize two sexes, male and female,” noting “federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology.” It also cited joint guidance from the state attorney general’s office and the state Education Department that called those presidential statements of policy “legally ineffective.”
Top state officials said state law continues to protect transgender students, including their right to use facilities such as restrooms and locker rooms and participate in sports that align with their gender identity.
“The conflict is crystal clear and undeniable, leaving this Board confounded as to which ‘law’ we are required to follow,” the resolution stated.
Speaking for himself, Vasiliou said he found both the state law and the executive order “too extreme.”
The policy adopted by the Locust Valley board allows transgender students to use gender-neutral spaces. Vasiliou said at the meeting the district has spent more than a year building gender-neutral bathrooms and locker rooms and has overhauled female locker rooms to “reasonably accommodate” the needs of all students.
“We should be permitted as a board to provide reasonable accommodations, and reasonable accommodations include gender-neutral spaces for restrooms and for locker rooms,” he said. “We've done that.”
O'Hare, referring to the time between the issuance of Trump's executive order and the adoption of the Massapequa and Locust Valley policies, said, “Neither district has explained why it took them eight months to discern a conflict between state and federal law on this issue."
Both Massapequa and Locust Valley cited the possibility of losing federal aid and facing other federal enforcement actions as one reason for their policy adoption.
Locust Valley pointed to the conflict between the U.S. Education Department and New York City public schools. The city earlier this week sued the federal department over the elimination of tens of millions of dollars in funding due to its transgender student policies.
Locust Valley’s 2025-26 budget is $98 million, $90 million of which comes from property tax revenue. State aid comprises $5 million. The district did not respond to a question as to how much federal aid it is receiving this school year.
The board has retained the law firm of Melville-based Nicholas Rigano, the same attorney representing Massapequa over its policy on transgender student access to facilities.
In the board’s statement Thursday, it said, “The Locust Valley Central School District remains entirely focused on supporting the well-being of all our students, staff and families while we await further guidance on the rule of law pertaining to this matter.”
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
