School districts in Chicago, New York City, and Fairfax County, Virginia, are set to lose $24 million in federal funding for magnet schools for failing to address potential civil rights violations cited by the Trump administration.
Department of Education Acting Assistance Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor last week warned New York City Public Schools Chairperson Gregory Faulkner, Chicago Board of Education President Sean Harden, and Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid that the Trump administration would not sign off on multi-mullion dollar Magnet School Assistance Program (MSAP) grants for the next fiscal year if the districts failed to comply with federal law by Tuesday, the New York Post reported.
Trainor said the districts missed the deadline and are therefore not eligible to receive MSAP grant funding for the next fiscal year, which started on Oct. 1, the outlet first reported. Fairfax County Public Schools stands to lose $3.4 million, New York City Community School Districts will lose around $15 million, and Chicago Public Schools will lose $5.8 million, according to the report.
“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,” Education Department spokesperson Julie Hartman told the outlet.
“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,” she continued. “If these entities are willing to risk federal funding to continue their illegal activity, that decision falls squarely on them.”
Trainor sent letters to the districts on Sept. 16 accusing them of having transgender policies that discriminate on the basis of sex, in violation of Title IX.
The policies included allowing students to access facilities, like restrooms and locker rooms, that align with their self-proclaimed “gender identity,” rather than their biological reality. Trainor also pointed to New York City’s guidelines allowing students to play on sports teams that match their “gender identity.”
Trainor also accused Chicago of promoting “textbook racial discrimination” in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act for its “racially exclusionary” “Black Students Success Plan,” according to the report. The initiative is allegedly aimed at providing resources “only to black students.”
A spokesperson for New York City Public Schools said the district is “deeply disappointed” the Trump administration denied their request to extend the deadline to consider the “sweeping policy changes.” The spokesperson said slashing funding will result in “canceled courses and shrinking enrichment…a consequence out city can’t afford and our students don’t deserve.”
Acting general counsel for the Board of Education of the City of Chicago Elizabeth K. Barton told Trainor in a letter that her district is being placed in an “impossible position” and claimed the district cannot provide a thorough response to the administration because “documents are being deliberately withheld.”
Fairfax County Public Schools did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment by time of publication.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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