Exclusive | NYC, Chicago and Va. magnet schools to lose more than $24M in federal funding after failing to address discrimination concerns

School districts in New York City, Chicago and Fairfax County, Va., will be stripped of more than $24 million in federal funding for magnet schools next fiscal year after failing to meet a Trump administration deadline to address potential civil rights violations.Education Department Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor had warned New York City Public Schools Chairperson Gregory Faulkner; Chicago Board of Education President Sean Harden; and Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid last week that if their school districts did not come into to compliance with federal law by Tuesday, the Trump administration would not certify their multi-million dollar Magnet School Assistance Program (MSAP) grants. Since they missed the deadline, Trainor will not certify that the districts are compliant with civil rights law, as required for MSAP grants, and they will not be eligible to receive that grant funding in the next fiscal year, which begins on Oct.1, The Post has learned. At stake was about $3.4 million in funding for Fairfax County Public Schools; approximately $15 for New York City Community School Districts; and roughly $5.8 million for Chicago Public Schools. “The Department will not rubber-stamp civil rights compliance for New York, Chicago, and Fairfax while they blatantly discriminate against students based on race and sex,” Julie Hartman, an Education Department spokesperson, told The Post. “These are public schools, funded by hardworking American families, and parents have every right to expect an excellent education — not ideological indoctrination masquerading as ‘inclusive’ policy,” she added.

“If these entities are willing to risk federal funding to continue their illegal activity, that decision falls squarely on them.” In his Sept.16 letters, Trainor accused all three school districts of discrimination on the basis of sex, in violation of Title IX, based on policies for transgender and gender expa...