Overview

• New York City filed a 48-page complaint in Manhattan federal court seeking to restore roughly $47 million for magnet programs after federal certifications were withheld.
• The Education Department notified the district on Sept. 16 that grants would end unless schools separated facilities by sex and barred students assigned male at birth from girls’ sports.
• The city says 19 magnet schools serving about 7,700 students lost access to $11 million in carryover funds, with roughly $36 million in remaining grant commitments at risk.
• A federal spokesperson called the case meritless, citing MSAP’s civil-rights compliance requirement and claiming NYC’s policies violate female students’ Title IX rights.
• City leaders note state law protects transgender students’ access, the schools chancellor pledged to defend current guidelines, and LGBTQ+ advocates organized protests as the dispute widened to other districts including Chicago and Fairfax County.