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New York Attorney General Letitia James was sued for allegedly threatening to remove school board members for discussing or even allowing students to discuss trans students in girls’ sports and in locker rooms during school board meetings.
The alleged threats appeared in a “guidance letter” that warned of firing any school board member who uses the wrong pronoun for a trans person, or if it allows students to publicly express at school board meetings their fears and discomfort with trans student athletes using the wrong locker room for their biological sex.
A plaintiff in the lawsuit, Massapequa Union Free School District board president Kerry Wachter, claimed she was told that James’ office asked her to mute and remove any board meeting speakers who expressed views opposing trans athletes in locker rooms and girls’ sports.
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A view of the marquee at Massapequa High School, in Massapequa, New York, on Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
“They’re saying if we allow this discussion at our board meetings, she can come and take us off the board,” Wachter told PK Press Club Digital. “They want me to stop public comments and stop them from speaking.”
Wachter added that trans students were not directly named at board meetings and that conversations were based solely on students’ feelings and concerns.
School board testimonies from students and parents detailing the negative experiences of girls sharing spaces with biological males have become increasingly common in 2024 and 2025, often in states controlled by Democrats. Images of these testimonies have often gone viral, sparking public attention against the politicians and lawmakers who enabled these situations.
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The Massapequa Union Free School District became a recent epicenter of the national debate over trans students in girls’ spaces after the school board adopted a policy in September directing all students to use restrooms and locker rooms based on their biological sex. The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the district in response to the policy.
Wachter claims she received the advice from James’ office in May of this year.
Southeastern Legal Foundation attorney Kim Hermann alleged that James’ advice did not apply to speakers who expressed support for trans inclusion.
“They’re not saying you can’t talk about this topic, they’re saying no one can speak out in favor of biological sex,” Hermann told PK Press Club Digital. “If a transgender or LGBTQ activist says ‘boys should play sports for girls, we should have boys in girls’ locker rooms, these people are horrible,’ they can say whatever they want… but anyone who disagrees with them can no longer speak at these meetings.”
The lawsuit alleges that James’ office cited the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), a New York state law that aims to prevent harassment and bullying.
However, Hermann argues that the law does not override the First Amendment or the right of citizens to speak out on issues at school board meetings.
“The First Amendment here is true, and so whether you have these state laws or not, a state cannot come in and just erase the First Amendment from the Constitution,” Hermann said. “Whether or not the statements and discussions about transgender and these various policies violate state laws are absolutely irrelevant to what we’re talking about in this lawsuit.
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“When they threaten to remove dually elected school board members simply for allowing public debate, it is a blatant violation of the First Amendment.”
PK Press Club Digital has reached out to James’ office for comment.
Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Rotterdam-Mohonasen Central School District school board member Danielle Ciampino; Sarah Rouse, parent of students in the Rockville Center Union Free School District; and Issac Kuo, father of students in the Rockville Center Union Free School District.
