Districts risk $24M magnet funding after missed Title IX deadline

Three of the nation’s largest public school districts risk losing more than $24 million in federal magnet-school funding after missing a Trump administration deadline to rescind policies the U.S. Education Department says discriminate against students based on sex, officials said Wednesday. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights had given New York City Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools and Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia until Tuesday to agree to remedial actions laid out in letters from Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor dated Sept. 16.

The department said Trainor will not certify the districts as compliant with federal civil rights law, a step required for Magnet School Assistance Program grants, making them ineligible for funds in the next fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. The Education Department said about $15 million would be withheld from New York City, roughly $5.8 million from Chicago and $3.4 million from Fairfax County, for a total slightly above $24 million. One report separately suggested New York City could face additional funding losses, bringing that district’s total exposure higher, though the Education Department’s...