The New York State Education Department on Thursday sternly rejected the Trump administration’s demand that the state reverse a ban on Native American mascots, questioning the federal government’s interpretation of civil rights law.
The White House had accused New York last week of illegal discrimination, objecting to the state’s requirement that school districts banish mascots that appropriate Native American culture or risk losing funding. After parents in Massapequa, N.Y., protested the elimination of the district’s decades-old “Chiefs” nickname and logo, the Trump administration ordered the state to allow all districts to choose their preferred mascots.
But Daniel Morton-Bentley, the deputy commissioner for legal affairs at the state education agency, said in a Thursday letter to the administration that the federal Education Department’s finding was based on “internally inconsistent arguments.”
The Trump administration outlined its view of civil rights law in a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools in February, taking issue with diversity programs that “stigmatize students who belong to particular racial groups based on crude racial stereotypes.”
New York’s two-year-old ban on Native American mascots, which many tribes argue are often historically inaccurate and draw from stereotypes, complies with the goal outlined in the administration’s earlier letter, Mr. Morton-Bentley argued. He pointed out that under previous administrations, the Education Department has required some districts to eliminate Native American mascots.
It was not the first time that New York’s education leaders had responded to the Trump administration with defiance. After the federal Education Department threatened in April to pull school funding from states that did not eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, New York was the first state to publicly repudiate the demand.
The U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has typically taken months to review complaints as federal investigators analyze data, conduct interviews and make site visits. The Trump administration reached its finding in New York’s case in less than five weeks.
In his letter on Thursday, Mr. Morton-Bentley questioned the administration’s involvement in a state issue, noting that efforts by district leaders in Massapequa to challenge the mascot ban were previously rejected in Brooklyn federal court.
“O.C.R. is not a court of last resort for unsuccessful litigants,” he said, referring to the investigative office.
A spokeswoman for the federal Education Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Linda McMahon, the education secretary, said at a news conference last week that her department would refer the case to the Justice Department if New York did not comply with its demands.
Ms. McMahon accused New York of unfairly targeting Native American representation in schools and ordered the state to apologize to families in Massapequa, a middle-class hamlet on Long Island’s South Shore about 40 miles from Manhattan. She has pointed out that other mascots, including the Vikings, Fighting Irish and Cowboys, are still permitted in schools.
“We are taking a stand to say that this is a very important issue of civil rights,” she said, adding that New York’s policy had fomented a “racist environment” in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits the recipients of federal funds from discriminating based on race, color or national origin.
President Trump has taken a personal interest in Massapequa’s battle with the state, posting messages of encouragement for the district on social media and personally asking the education secretary to intervene.
Parents and school leaders in Massapequa argue that the Chiefs name and logo are meant to convey respect and admiration.
New York education officials have said that they enacted the ban to promote inclusion in schools and in response to concerns from many local tribes and national organizations about the perpetuation of stereotypes.
The state’s restriction makes an exception for the continued use of Native American mascots if they are approved by local tribes. State education leaders have said that during the implementation of the ban, Massapequa did not reach out to Indigenous leaders in the area.
Mr. Morton-Bentley did not address Ms. McMahon’s demand that the state apologize to Massapequa, nor did he agree to allow the district to keep its Chief nickname.
Rather, he offered a compromise: If the Trump administration was concerned that the state’s Native American restriction was too narrow in its focus on a single group, he said, the state would eagerly consider a ban on all mascots that draw from racial or ethnic stereotypes.
Troy Closson is a Times education reporter focusing on K-12 schools.
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