OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
9:15 AM – Wednesday, December 10, 2025
A lawsuit has been filed against New York Attorney General Letitia James for allegedly threatening to remove school board members who discuss or oppose transgender students in girls’ sports or locker rooms.
The complaint was filed on Tuesday in a Long Island federal court regarding a “guidance letter” James sent to school boards in May.
The letter cautioned members against using the wrong pronouns for students who identify as transgender, and warned them not to allow students to speak publicly at school board meetings about their discomfort with students using a locker room that does not correspond to their biological sex. Infringements of these warnings could result in removal, according to the letter.
Massapequa Union Free School District Board Chair Kerry Wachter claims she was instructed to mute or dismiss speakers opposing trans students in girls’ locker rooms and sports.
“They’re saying if we allow this discussion in our board meetings, she can come in and remove us from the board,” Wachter told Fox News. “They want me to stop public comment and stop them from speaking.”
AdvertisementA copy of the letter obtained by Fox News read, “Unfortunately, some board members have made, and encouraged, comments during board meetings that demean and stigmatize LGBTQ+ students. These comments have included attacks on school support for LGBTQ+ student groups and on transgender and gender-expansive students’ rights to use facilities, including restrooms and locker rooms, or participate on school athletic teams consistent with their gender identity—rights that remain firmly embedded in state law.”
Despite this assertion, upon taking office in January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) called “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This order defines “woman” and “girl” as “human female,” and protects women’s privacy in gendered spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and prisons.
Furthermore, in February, Trump signed an EO titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which resolved to pull funding from programs that “deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities” by allowing biologically male athletes to participate.
Nevertheless, James’ letter continued, “Board members … may be removed from office when they willfully neglect their duty or violate legal protections for students in their districts… Under the First Amendment, school board meetings are considered limited public fora. This means that school boards that allow public comment ‘may make reasonable, viewpoint-neutral rules governing the content of speech allowed,’ including prohibiting all comments on a particular topic that would have discriminatory, harassing, or bullying effects.”
Southeastern Legal Foundation Attorney Kim Hermann said that the restriction on discussions about this topic does not apply to those who support transgender ideology.
“They’re not saying you can’t talk about this topic, they’re saying that nobody can speak out say in favor of biological sex,” Hermann told Fox News. “If a transgender activist or an LGBTQ activist [can] say ‘boys need to be in girls’ sports, we need to have boys in girls’ locker rooms, these people are awful,’ they can say anything they want… but anyone who disagrees with them cannot speak at these meetings anymore.”
Herman also argues that James’ citation of The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), a law in the state of New York that seeks to prevent bullying, cannot override the First Amendment.
“The First Amendment here reigns true, and so whether or not you have these state laws, a state cannot come in and just erase the First Amendment out of the Constitution,” Hermann explained. “Whether or not statements and discussions about transgender and these different policies actually violate those state laws is absolutely irrelevant for what we’re talking about in this lawsuit.”
“When they’re threatening the removal of dually-elected school board members for simply allowing public debate, that’s a blatant violation of the First Amendment,” she added.
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