(Dec. 10, 2025): The Washington Times covers a lawsuit brought by Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) on behalf of parents and school board members in New York who are suing State Attorney General Letitia James for silencing public discussion on transgender issues. Many parents and students across the country want to address their school boards to ensure their privacy and safety are protected and kept sex-separated. But in New York, if school board members like Plaintiff Kerry Wachter let anyone express that view, she could be removed from office according to a letter issued by James.

SLF filed a First Amendment challenge to the letter in federal court on behalf of Ms. Wachter, another school board member, and two parents, each of whom fear being silenced or removed from office for speaking on basic biological truths. According to the letter, if any school board member allows a speaker to “misgender” someone or otherwise “demean” someone based on gender identity, they or the speaker could be labeled a bully, harasser, removed from office, and face other legal consequences.

Ms. Wachter explains, “It’s just a way to shut down free and open ideas and debate and policy discussions. They’re trying to shut down conversations. They’re trying to tie the hands of school boards who are duly elected by their communities. We want to hear from our communities, and she’s trying to intimidate us to not allow this kind of conversation to continue.”

In school districts like Massapequa, where Ms. Wachter is the president of the school board, the issue of transgender individuals using bathrooms and locker rooms of the opposite sex is an ongoing issue. Just recently, a biological male used the girls’ locker room, which sparked public debate among concerned parents and students.

Ms. Wachter states, “Someone has to stand up for these girls. They’re being brave to come out, but if Letitia James had her way, as soon as they came to the microphone and started speaking about this issue, we should have shut them down and told them to go sit down, we don’t want to hear from you.”

SLF President Kim Hermann warns of the consequences if school board members fail to fall in line with James’s directive. “Letitia James and the New York State Board of Education have threatened others with removal for similar situations,. We know for a fact that when they come down with guidance or instructions saying school board members have to do X, Y or Z, or else they will be subject to removal, that they are very serious about this.”

Read the full article at WashingtonTimes.com.