The U.S. Department of Education has opened an investigation into the Saratoga Springs City School District after Congresswoman Elise Stefanik pushed for a probe. The Republican claims the district is in violation of Title IX. But the district and local parents dispute that.
In March, the district's Board of Education passed a resolution titled “Affirming our Support for Every Student.”
The three-page document outlined policies, which had been in place for years, aimed at protecting transgender and immigrant students, affirmed the district’s commitment to following state laws, and included a call to action to ensure every student feels “valued, respected, and empowered to succeed.”
In April, Republican Elise Stefanik, whose sprawling 21st district includes portions of the Saratoga Springs City School District, wrote to Education Secretary Linda McMahon asking the DOE's Office for Civil Rights to investigate. Stefanik claimed the school’s policies violated Title IX under President Trump’s “Keeping Men out of Women Sports” executive order.
Last week, the DOE officially began a probe of the district.
Board President Anjie Emeka tells WAMC it’s important to note that none of the board’s policies changed.
“The school district is still adhering to all applicable laws including Title IX. New York state education law, Dignity for All Students Act [DASA], New York state human rights law, and even the Public School Athletic Association. There is nothing that we are willfully ignoring or not adhering to. We stand by our statement. It was the right thing to do and still is. We remain committed to fostering a safe and inclusive, respectful learning environment for every student,” said Emeka.
The district says it is complying with the DOE’s investigation and is confident its policies are fully in compliance with New York State law.
In a statement, the New York State Department of Education said the district has adopted policies that reflect its legal responsibilities, adding, “any attempt to create a controversy where one does not exist detracts from the important work performed by the staff of the district each day."
The board did not discuss the investigation publicly at Thursday’s meeting.
Rebecca Lynch has two kids in the city’s schools and she’s made a habit of attending most board meetings. She says the investigation is a waste of time.
“The most frustrating thing about it is it really pulls the focus away from the real work of our district and it forces the board and the district to be more reactive instead of proactive. So, rather than being able to expend their energy on working to make things better, we’re just trying to prevent it from getting worse. And then we also have all of this extra attention and media and people, it makes the meetings take longer. It makes it more of a circus, if you will. And it just distracts from the real work that the district needs to do,” said Lynch.
In a statement, Stefanik claimed the “resolution allowing biological males to participate in girls’ sports and access girls’ locker rooms is a blatant violation of federal law under Title IX and an affront to the progress generations of women have fought to achieve.”
Leigh Wilton is a psychology professor at Skidmore College with two children in the district. She's running unopposed for a seat on the board of education. She says the more energy put toward the investigation, the less there’ll be for the suite of other issues facing the district.
“We need to make sure that we have a plan in place that we’re thinking about what can we do to attract and retain bus drivers? How can we make sure that students get to school reliably? How can that work for families? So, these are some of the other issues that I think are important to focus on. Thinking about making sure we’re able to afford the buses and convert to the renewable buses,” said Wilton.
The board approved pay raises for district bus drivers in March. In January, the board went back on proposed plans to have four elementary schools start as late as 9:50 a.m. and the high school start at 7:30 a.m. to accommodate for a driver shortage.
WAMC has requested comment from the U.S. Department of Education.
