ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — New York’s ban on Native American mascots violates federal civil rights law, according to a formal finding released by the U.S. Department of Education last week. But even though Education Secretary Linda McMahon ordered the state to reverse the ban, education officials rejected their findings on Thursday, calling their reasoning legally flawed and inconsistent.
McMahon delivered the findings during a visit to Massapequa High School on Long Island, home of the “Chiefs,” on May 30. She said her Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights concluded that the New York State Education Department and Board of Regents violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, banning race-based discrimination in federally funded education programs. OCR said the state singled out Native American culture for removal while greenlighting other racial or ethnic mascots like “Dutchmen,” “Fighting Irish,” or “Huguenots.”
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“Rather than focus on learning outcomes,” McMahon said, “the New York Department of Education and Board of Regents has set its sights on erasing Massapequa’s history.”
That unequal application of the ban—targeting Native mascots while allowing others—represents discrimination, federal officials said. That’s why the state will lose federal funding unless it rescinds the policy requiring public schools to retire Indigenous names, logos, and imagery by June 30. On May 30, the feds gave the state 10 days to comply or face referral to the U.S. Department of Justice…