Trump administration cancels NYC magnet school funding over transgender student policies

The Trump administration is canceling millions of dollars in magnet school grant funding after New York City officials missed a Tuesday deadline to overhaul their policies regarding transgender students.

- By ALEX ZIMMERMAN Chalkbeat New York

((Pexels/Anton Massalov))

At stake is $36 million that city officials expected to flow to several schools over the next three fiscal years, beginning on October 1, through the U.S. Department of Education's Magnet School Assistance Program. Funding for school districts in Chicago and Fairfax, VA, was also canceled.

New York City intended to use the magnet school grants on several campuses to foster “a more racially diverse population through unique thematic programs which offer early college access coupled with career pathways and a strategic, aggressive, and targeted approach to outreach and recruitment,” according to the grant applications.

The episode represents one of the first known examples of the Trump administration canceling funding for New York City’s public schools as a result of the federal government's contested interpretation of civil rights laws. Since taking office, Trump has waged an aggressive push to roll back protections for transgender people and has targeted several school districts.

Federal officials informed the city’s Education Department on September 16 that the funding was in jeopardy because they were “deeply concerned” with city policies that allow transgender students to participate in sports and use bathrooms and other school facilities in line with their gender identity. The U.S. Department of Education contended that the policies violate Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination at educational institutions that receive federal funding.