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The Trump administration demanded that New York City scrap policies designed to protect transgender students by Tuesday evening or it will discontinue millions in grant funding earmarked for magnet schools.
That would affect about $15 million city officials were expecting from the federal government next fiscal year, which the city has used to support five magnet school programs. City officials say they expected $36 million for the remaining duration of the grants. Federal officials said they would not revoke funds that have already been distributed.
If the city doesn’t change its policies regarding transgender students, “the Department’s Office for Civil Rights cannot certify they are in compliance with all civil rights laws, and therefore cannot award the magnet school assistance program funding for the next fiscal year,” U.S. Department of Education spokesperson Madison Biedermann wrote in a statement Tuesday morning.
On Sept. 16, federal education officials first informed the city’s Education Department that they were “deeply concerned” with policies allowing transgender students to participate in sports and use bathrooms and other facilities in accordance with their gender identity.
On Friday, city officials requested 30 days to consider whether to appeal the Trump administration’s decision to withhold the grant funding, though federal officials appear to have rejected that request in favor of a Tuesday evening deadline. Biedermann said the tight timeline was because the federal government must certify compliance with civil rights laws before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
The move represents one of the first known threats from the federal government to withhold funding from New York City’s Education Department in line with its contested interpretation of federal civil rights laws. The Trump administration has mounted an aggressive push to roll back protections for transgender students and has targeted districts in Virginia, Colorado, and Illinois.
Mayor Eric Adams signaled a desire last week to change the city’s policies in line with the Trump administration’s wishes. His comments appear to have opened an unusual rift with schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, who recently said the current rules are consistent with the city’s values.
Craig Trainor, the U.S. Department of Education’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, asserted in the Sept. 16 letter that the city’s policies violate Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination at education institutions that receive federal funding. The letter singled out the magnet school grant program and was sent to at least three school districts, including Chicago Public Schools.
Shortly thereafter, Adams began questioning the city’s policies in public appearances and interviews, drawing strong rebukes from state education officials and civil rights groups who noted that state law and city guidelines forbid denying access to facilities based on a person’s gender identity.
Liz Vladeck, the city Education Department’s top lawyer, requested a month to consider challenging the Trump administration’s move holding up the grant funding
In a Friday letter, she asked the federal Education Department to “please explain the nexus between your interpretation of Title IX and the [magnet school] grant funding that is being discontinued.” The letter also asserts that the move “deprived the NYCDOE of the procedures and due process required by federal regulations.”
Adams has denied that the funding threat motivated his recent comments about bathroom policies and acknowledged he has little power to directly change them because they are enshrined in state law. But he has held to his position.
“I don’t know what parent of a little girl would be comfortable with a boy walking into the shower where their baby is,” he said in a Monday interview on PIX11. “I’m just not going to support that.”
A spokesperson for Adams did not respond to a question about what showers the mayor was referring to, or if there were any examples of the city’s policies for transgender students causing problems in schools.
The Trump administration has reportedly considered offering Adams a job in a bid to get him out of the mayoral race to help former Gov. Andrew Cuomo defeat Zohran Mamdani, a Queens assemblyman and the current frontrunner. A City Hall spokesperson previously denied that Adams’ new interest in reconsidering the city’s policies was related to a potential job in the Trump administration.
Aviles-Ramos, the schools chancellor who was appointed by Adams, has suggested city policies would not change, a rare instance of the schools chief diverging from the mayor’s messaging.
“To date, you know, those policies remain in place, and we’re going to continue to uphold them as part of our values here in New York City Public Schools,” Aviles-Ramos said during a recent appearance on the Max Politics podcast.
City Hall and Education Department spokespeople denied there was any rift between the mayor and chancellor.
“Withholding funding that benefits all students — simply because of a specific policy we have no power to change — is unwarranted and wrong,” Kayla Mamelak Altus, an Adams spokesperson, wrote in a statement.
“While Mayor Adams may not agree with every rule or policy, we will always stand up to protect critical resources for our city’s 1 million students. On this issue, the mayor and chancellor are fully aligned: we must follow the law, support our students’ identities, and keep them safe at all times.”
City officials did not indicate how they plan to respond to the Trump administration’s latest demand that they change their policies by Tuesday evening.
Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex atazimmerman@chalkbeat.org.
