No Summons Issued In Massapequa Bathroom Suit, NYCLU Says

MASSAPEQUA, NY. — The New York Civil Liberties Union confirmed Friday morning that its clients had not yet been served in the Massapequa School District and Board of Education's lawsuit against New York State, stemming from the district’s September policy on bathroom and locker room usage.

In the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the district and board seek judgment from the court saying the district’s policies do not violate Title IX and do not constitute discrimination under state law.

The suit names three state officials as co-defendants, including Attorney General Letitia James, Denise Miranda, Commissioner of the New York State Division of Human Rights, and Education Commissioner Betty Rosa. The Attorney General's office, Commissioner of Human Rights' office and Commissioner of Education's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The district and school board also seek judgments that Title IX preempts state laws where relevant, and that the Department of Education’s stay order on the bathroom policy cannot be enforced, the suit said.

Finally, the district and school board seek an injunction that would prohibit James, Miranda and Rosa from taking enforcement action against the district.

The complaint reads that the Massapequa School District and Board of Education are in an, “impossible position,” wherein the district and board are “under threat of enforcement actions by either the federal government or the state government regardless of how they implement policies,” related to the use of the school district’s facilities, including bathrooms and locker rooms.

The NYCLU had previously challenged the policy on Oct. 3, on the behalf of a student who the NYCLU said was being prevented from accessing school facilities under the new policy. In a statement issued through the NYCLU Wednesday evening, the father of the affected student said the following: “Trans students are someone’s child, someone’s sibling — young people who laugh with their friends at lunch, worry about homework, and get excited about prom. What breaks our hearts is knowing that this board policy treats them like a threat instead of kids who just want to use the bathroom and get back to class. We wish people could see that being trans doesn’t make anyone less human. Trans youth are simply trying to grow up and feel safe, just like everyone else.”

When asked if the NYCLU planned to appeal any ruling that would allow the school to enforce the facilities policy, NYCLU Education Counsel Emma Hulse said, “We are a long way from anything like that.”

“Our clients haven’t even been served, they haven’t issued summonses yet,” Hulse said. “So I think, at this moment, we are helping the family understand their options.”

“The state order was really important for helping our client feel that they could go to school and be safe at school, and the filing of this lawsuit has called that into question again,” Hulse added.