{"id":26622,"date":"2025-12-12T11:20:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T11:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=26622"},"modified":"2025-12-12T11:20:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T11:20:59","slug":"ny-ag-sued-for-allegedly-threatening-school-board-members","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=26622","title":{"rendered":"NY AG Sued for Allegedly Threatening School Board Members"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New York Attorney General Letitia James is facing a new federal lawsuit accusing her office of violating the First Amendment by threatening to remove elected school board members who permit public discussion about transgender students in girls\u2019 locker rooms and sports.<\/p>\n

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The lawsuit, filed by a coalition of school officials and parents represented by the Southeastern Legal Foundation, centers on a guidance letter James\u2019 office sent to districts earlier this year. The letter warned that any board member who \u201cdemeans or stigmatizes\u201d LGBTQ+ students\u2014or allows similar comments during meetings\u2014could face removal from office under the state\u2019s Dignity for All Students Act (DASA).<\/p>\n

The letter specifically cited complaints about comments opposing \u201ctransgender and gender-expansive students\u2019 rights to use facilities, including restrooms and locker rooms, or participate on school athletic teams consistent with their gender identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In one of the most controversial passages, James\u2019 office stated that school boards are \u201climited public fora\u201d under the First Amendment and therefore \u201cmay make reasonable, viewpoint-neutral rules governing the content of speech,\u201d including banning public comment that might have \u201cdiscriminatory, harassing, or bullying effects.\u201d<\/p>\n

But plaintiffs in the case argue the policy was not viewpoint-neutral and effectively silenced parents, students, and elected board members who disagreed with transgender inclusion policies in girls\u2019 spaces.<\/p>\n

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Massapequa Union Free School District Board Chair Kerry Wachter, one of the lead plaintiffs,\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Fox News Digital that she was personally informed by James\u2019 office that she must cut off speakers at board meetings who voiced opposition to transgender students sharing facilities with girls.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re saying if we allow this discussion in our board meetings, she can come in and remove us from the board,\u201d Wachter said. \u201cThey want me to stop public comment and stop them from speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Wachter noted that no students were ever named in the discussions. \u201cThese are girls talking about their own experiences, their own discomfort. We\u2019re not targeting anyone \u2014 we\u2019re just listening to them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit contends that the attorney general\u2019s directive chills constitutionally protected speech by threatening punitive action against elected officials who merely allow dissenting views to be expressed.<\/p>\n

Attorney Kim Hermann of the Southeastern Legal Foundation said the state\u2019s guidance was applied selectively. \u201cThey\u2019re not saying you can\u2019t talk about this topic,\u201d Hermann said. \u201cThey\u2019re saying that nobody can speak in favor of biological sex. If a transgender activist says, \u2018Boys belong in girls\u2019 sports,\u2019 they can say whatever they want. But if someone disagrees, they\u2019re silenced.\u201d<\/p>\n

The controversy follows months of escalating tensions in New York\u2019s suburban school districts, particularly after the Massapequa school board adopted a policy in September requiring students to use bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their biological sex. The New York Civil Liberties Union sued the district soon after, arguing that the policy violated state anti-discrimination laws.<\/p>\n

Parents and female students across the state \u2014 including in Rockville Centre and Rotterdam-Mohonasen \u2014 have described feeling uncomfortable sharing intimate spaces with biological males. Testimonies from those students have gone viral online, fueling national debate over whether states can restrict speech critical of transgender policies.<\/p>\n

Wachter said the board\u2019s public comment sessions have become flashpoints. \u201cGirls are scared to talk,\u201d she said. \u201cNow even as adults, we\u2019re being told we can\u2019t let them speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The plaintiffs allege James\u2019 guidance letter amounts to unconstitutional censorship, warning that it sets a dangerous precedent by weaponizing state law to control speech at local government meetings. \u201cWhen they\u2019re threatening the removal of duly elected school board members for simply allowing public debate, that\u2019s a blatant violation of the First Amendment,\u201d Hermann said.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit also highlights the chilling effect of James\u2019 warning that even an unsuccessful removal proceeding could burden districts financially and distract from \u201cimportant work.\u201d Plaintiffs argue that language was a clear attempt to intimidate school boards into compliance.<\/p>\n

James\u2019 office has not publicly responded to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

The case marks a rare challenge to a state attorney general\u2019s authority to interpret anti-bullying and civil rights statutes in the education system \u2014 and sets up a constitutional test over whether New York\u2019s enforcement of LGBTQ+ policies can supersede free speech rights in public schools.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n