The NYS Department of Education has denied the Massapequa school district’s request for an extension to comply with a ban on Native American mascots, names and imagery, citing a lack of “good cause” effort, state officials said in a letter Friday.
“The District’s extension request reveals that nothing whatsoever has been done to eliminate the use of its ‘Chiefs’ name, logo or mascot,” state officials wrote in a letter to the district. “Indeed, at times, the Massapequa School District has suggested that it has no intention of complying with these regulations.”
Darwin Yanes reports in NEWSDAY that the state cited as an example a recent fundraiser held at Massapequa High School that raised $10,000 for the district’s legal fight against the mascot ban. In an emailed statement Friday, the Massapequa school board said the “ban on Native American names and imagery is blatantly discriminatory and a clear violation of civil rights. We remain confident that we will prevail in federal court and see this unconstitutional regulation struck down.”…