NYCLU, BOE Update On Massapequa Bathroom Lawsuit

MASSAPEQUA, NY. — The Massapequa School District and Board of Education have expanded their lawsuit to include the U.S. Department of Education and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, NYCLU lawyers and the Board of Education confirmed this week.

The lawsuit was filed Oct. 21, after New York State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa placed a stay on the district’s bathroom and locker room policy. That policy required students to use bathrooms aligned with their sex as defined at birth in compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive order 14168. The executive order’s policies on gender identity and expression, the district said in its civil complaint, clashes with New York state civil and human rights law, which lists gender expression and identity as protected characteristics.

The NYCLU filed an appeal with the board of education on behalf of a student in the district Oct. 3, which led to Rosa placing the stay on the policy. After the stay was placed, Massapequa’s board of education announced that it had filed suit against Attorney General Letitia James and Rosa. Also listed in that suit was the Doe family, the family of the student on whose behalf the NYCLU filed its appeal in October.

The Doe family was served papers Dec. 10, lawyers representing the family told Patch Tuesday.

“On December 10 — more than six weeks after the case was initially filed — the District's attorneys filed summonses against all defendants,” Emma Hulse, the NYCLU attorney representing the Doe family, told Patch Tuesday. “We waived service, which means we have until February 9 to answer. The other defendants (which now include the Federal Department of Education and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, who the district added to the lawsuit) currently have until early January to file their answers.”

In a comment Wednesday, the district said the move to include the federal government was made to ensure that the suit was heard. The district also acknowledged that its Jan. 8 board of education meeting was listed as an event on the NYCLU's website.

"This lawsuit safeguards the District from losing federal and state funding amid the governments' irreconcilable legal interpretations," the Board of Education said Wednesday. "Including the federal government in the suit ensures its position will be heard by the Court directly. The District acknowledges the NYCLU's planned event at the January 8 BOE meeting and welcomes peaceful constructive community input while prioritizing all students' safety and privacy."

According to the NYCLU, the event listing, titled, "Support Trans Students at Massapequa BOE Meeting," is intended to generate support for Massapequa residents who oppose the policy.

“NYCLU is supporting a group of Massapequa residents who are standing in solidarity with affected LGBTQIA+ students and their families in the District, demonstrating to the Board that the Nassau community wants policies that create safe and supportive schools — not policies that target LGBTQIA+ students in defiance of state law,” Hulse said Tuesday. “We are taking our lead from parents, students, and local organizers, sharing the message that trans kids deserve to attend schools where they are respected and valued.”

As of Tuesday night, Hulse said the NYCLU had a reply due in court at the end of January, after the board filed its answer to the NYCLU’s appeal in mid-December. The stay on Massapequa’s bathroom policy, Hulse said, remains in place. In addition to the Massapequa lawsuit, Hulse said the Doe family had been included in Locust Valley schools' lawsuit over a similar policy. The NYCLU is also representing the family in that suit, Hulse said.

“We are representing the family in both lawsuits and will not stop fighting to ensure that all trans and gender non-conforming students have the right to use the facilities that align with their gender identity as required by law,” Hulse said.