New York’s education department says if it is discriminatory under federal civil rights law to only ban Native American mascots, then it will ban mascots in the state related to any racial or cultural group — including whites. 

Last week, the federal Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said an investigation into the New York Board of Regents’s ban on Native American mascots — mascots representing other “ethnic” groups are allowed — is discriminatory and found that it violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The department gave New York 10 days to “voluntarily resolve” apparent violations by rescinding the ban and issuing an apology to Native Americans for trying to “erase Native American history.”

The deputy commissioner of New York’s education department, Daniel Morton-Bentley, responded to the federal government with a different proposal: ban all mascots connected to any cultural or racial group. 

Mr. Morton-Bentley focused on a portion of the letter from the Office of Civil Rights that said the state’s ban on Native American mascots violated Title VI because it allows schools to keep mascots like the Dutchmen — a reference to people from Holland. 

“This presupposes that it is permissible to eradicate harmful stereotypes used as school mascots so long as the regulatory scope is sufficiently broad,” Mr. Morton-Bentley said in his response. 

Taking the idea that a “broad” ban would be acceptable, Mr. Morton-Bently threatened to “prohibit all mascots that are ‘derived from or connected to [any] racial or ethnic groups used by schools and districts in the state of New York.’”

New York’s ban, which was implemented in 2023, prevents schools from using mascots that depict Native Americans or other related imagery, such as a tomahawk. The ban was implemented amid concerns from state officials that mascots can promote damaging stereotypes. 

The Trump administration’s letter to New York telling it to rescind the ban comes after parents at Massapequa spoke out when the Long Island school district was told to change its “Chiefs” nickname and logo.

New York’s education department warned the school district it would lose its funding if it did not change its mascot by the end of May. 

Before the state’s deadline, the Trump administration warned New York that its policy violated Title VI and that the state was at risk of losing federal funding over the prohibition. 

The secretary of education, Linda McMahon, said in a statement, “The Trump administration will not stand idly by as state leaders attempt to eliminate the history and culture of Native American tribes.”

“Rather than focus on learning outcomes, the New York Department of Education and Board of Regents has set its sights on erasing Massapequa’s history — while turning a blind eye to other districts’ mascots that are derived from or connected to other racial or ethnic groups,” she said.