NEW YORK, NY – EdTrust-New York condemns the Trump administration’s effort to use transgender students’ protections as a pretext to block school integration. By stripping $15 million in magnet school funding next year, and an additional $36 million in future years, the administration is attacking students’ civil rights while jeopardizing resources that drive equity.

Every student deserves to feel safe, seen, and supported in school; trans students are no exception. Targeting their access to bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletic participation that matches their identity is harmful in itself, and the administration is deliberately compounding that harm by undermining critical integration efforts.

Magnet schools are one of the most important tools New York City has to reduce segregation. Despite being one of the most diverse cities in the world, New York City schools remain among the most segregated, a legacy of selective admissions, housing patterns, zoning, and enrollment policies. Research is clear, integration boosts academic achievement, college enrollment, and critical thinking while narrowing opportunity gaps for Black and Latinx students. The Magnet School Assistance Program grants, canceled solely because of NYCPS’ transgender student policy, were designed to advance this work, supporting schools with early college access programs, career pathways, and inclusive recruitment strategies to ensure student bodies that reflect New York City’s diversity.

We stand with state leaders, including NYSED, who have pushed back on this harmful decision and defended New York City Public Schools’ right to a hearing. We applaud the city leaders who did the right thing by protecting trans youth in the face of political pressure.

We urge federal officials to restore this funding without condition and reaffirm educational equity, and inclusion cannot be bargained away.

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About EdTrust-New York:    EdTrust-New York is dedicated to eliminating equity and opportunity gaps that hinder students from reaching their full potential. We focus on ensuring that students of color, including Black, Latinx, Native American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander students, and those from low-income backgrounds achieve high levels of success from early childhood through college. For more information, visit EdTrustNY.org.