NYS strikes down Massapequa, Locust Valley school transgender bathroom policies

The state education commissioner has struck down policies enacted by the Massapequa and Locust Valley school boards requiring students to use either the bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their biological sex or gender-neutral facilities.

The commissioner, Betty A. Rosa, issued the ruling on Monday in response to an appeal from the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the parents of a transgender Massapequa student. In her ruling, she ordered the districts to allow students to use the facilities that "most closely align" with their gender identity.

Board members are "public officers who ‘take an oath of office to uphold the law and faithfully discharge their duties,’ ” Rosa said in her ruling. "Respondents’ conduct — disregarding state law to deprive students of the dignity to which they are entitled — did not satisfy these obligations."

The Massapequa and Locust Valley school boards, in emailed statements, said they were aware of the commissioner's decision and were reviewing it with legal counsel.

The NYCLU, in a statement, called the commissioner's ruling a "victory for the rights of transgender students on Long Island."

"This well-reasoned decision confirms what NYCLU has said from the beginning: these transphobic resolutions flagrantly violate New York laws, which unequivocally prohibit discrimination based on gender identity," said Emma Hulse, education counsel at the civil rights group. "The decision resoundingly affirms the right of New York students to use facilities that align with their gender identity."

Federal vs. state law

The Massapequa school board in September adopted a resolution requiring students to use bathrooms and other facilities that "correspond with the students’ sex as defined under Title IX and federal law."

At a later meeting, the school board voted to have the district's superintendent, William Brennan, "enforce and carry out all of the requirements" of the resolution.

Within weeks, the NYCLU filed an appeal with the education commissioner, challenging the district policy on behalf of the parents of a transgender student.

In her ruling, Rosa wrote that when the student learned of the new policy, the child "immediately started crying" and "quickly began feeling suicidal."

The Locust Valley school board adopted a similar policy in October. Rosa wrote in her ruling that she added the district to the appeal as a "related party."

Both districts had been barred from enforcing their new regulations while Rosa decided the appeal.

The districts have filed suit against the state, arguing they have been put in an "impossible position" due to conflicting state and federal rules concerning transgender students.

State officials have said that state law prohibits schools from denying students access to facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity.

But the districts, in their suits, have cited concerns that the federal Education Department has targeted school districts that allow students to play sports and use intimate facilities "in accordance with their gender identity." The federal agency has cited Title IX, a federal civil rights law that bans sex-based discrimination in education programs, and President Donald Trump's executive order that said federal funds could not be used to "promote gender ideology," according to court papers.

Massapequa's lawsuit, filed in October, argued in part that Rosa "usurped" the school board’s policymaking authority and forced the district "to allow biological males to enter intimate spaces with biological females ... to the detriment of its students and in contravention of the law."

The suit said female students have complained of "harassment and invasions of their privacy stemming from these incidents," Newsday has reported.