Maud Maron, who New York City Schools removed for 鈥�derogatory conduct鈥� in June, can now resume her post on lower Manhattan鈥檚 coveted District 2 council. She has also been criticized for making anti-transgender comments against students.聽

In her ruling, federal judge Diane Gujarati also deemed the New York City Department of Education鈥檚  anti-harassment policy 鈥� which was used to remove Maron 鈥� 鈥渃hilled 鈥� expression鈥� and likely violates the First Amendment because of its vague language.

The policy, D-210, is so unclear that it prevents 鈥渁 person of ordinary intelligence 鈥� before such person is subject to investigation鈥� from understanding what conduct is prohibited, the judge wrote.

Schools Chancellor David Banks removed Maron for comments made in the New York Post in which she called an anonymous Stuyvesant High School student author a 鈥渃oward鈥� and accused them of 鈥淛ew hatred鈥� for an op-ed accusing Israel of genocide in Palestine in the student paper.

In December, a 74 investigation revealed Maron also said in a private chat that, 鈥渢here is no such thing as trans kids,鈥� among other disparaging remarks. In response, Banks called Maron鈥檚 behavior 鈥渄espicable鈥� but did not include the anti-trans comments in documents outlining her removal. 

In a text, Maron told 社区黑料 Wednesday she was reinstated because, 鈥渇ree speech still means something in this country. The people who voted for me won today because they were also deprived of their voice by the Chancellor鈥檚 unconstitutional decision.鈥�

The judge鈥檚 decision was issued after Maron and two other parents sued the Department of Education, the education council for District 14 and its leadership for allegedly stifling their speech. Gujarti鈥檚 decision granted an injunction to stop the DOE from enforcing the anti-discrimination policy via removing council members. Their .

Department of Education officials said Gujarati鈥檚 decision makes it more difficult to safeguard children. 

鈥淲e are disappointed by a ruling that limits our ability to protect students from harmful conduct by parent leaders. Even prior to the court鈥檚 ruling, we began reviewing the applicable Chancellor鈥檚 regulation and are preparing to propose revisions and initiate our public engagement process,鈥� said spokesman Nathaniel Styer. 

The department, Styer added, is reviewing the ruling for 鈥渘ext steps鈥� and will continue to support district councils in complying with the law. 

Gujarati鈥檚 ruling did not call for the reinstatement of Tajh Sutton, who is the only other parent to be removed from a district council post after a D-210 investigation, because it is a separate case. Gujarati鈥檚 ruling stated that there is no proper request before the Court to 鈥渋dentically extend鈥� Maron鈥檚 relief to Sutton and therefore 鈥渋s not addressed herein.鈥� 

Sutton, formerly president of Williamsburg鈥檚 District 14 council, was removed after their official X account posted a toolkit for a student walkout for a ceasefire in Gaza.  DOE officials said the materials were 鈥減erceived by many community members as anti-Israel and antisemitic.鈥� 

As also reported by the , Sutton moved her district鈥檚 meetings online to limit threats 鈥� which included being mailed an envelope of human feces and death threats 鈥�  which the department later said violated open meeting laws. CEC 14鈥檚 official X account also blocked Maron. Both actions were categorized in Gujarati鈥檚 ruling as limiting free speech. 

Ultimately, 鈥渢he judge upheld the right to free speech even if that speech is offensive,鈥� said David Bloomfield, former DOE counsel and professor of education law with Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center. 

He added the ruling doesn鈥檛 justify the 鈥渙dious鈥� statements made, rather their right to be said in the first place, and that the system likely knew this was a possibility but would 鈥渞ather be slapped down by a court than allow [Maron鈥檚] behavior to persist.鈥� 

鈥淭he First Amendment guarantees a marketplace of ideas,鈥� Bloomfield said. 鈥淲hen the government intrudes on that, it鈥檚 hard to defend.鈥� 

In the first move of its kind, the nation鈥檚 largest school district removed two prominent elected parent leaders from community education councils after controversial rhetoric against transgender students and student advocacy for Palestine.

Elected to serve two-year terms on the city鈥檚 closest equivalent to school boards, parents Maud Maron and Tajh Sutton were removed Friday from lower Manhattan鈥檚 District 2 council and northern Brooklyn鈥檚 District 14, respectively. 

Maron appeared in court June 18, seeking an injunction and reinstatement, alleging the Chancellor鈥檚 decision was a violation of free speech. The Education Council Consortium, a parent advocacy organization, has demanded Sutton鈥檚 reinstatement and criticized the Chancellor for equivalating Maron and Sutton.聽

鈥淚t is a sad day when New York City Public Schools is compelled to take the actions I have ordered today, but the violations committed by these two individuals have made them unfit to serve in these roles,鈥� Schools Chancellor David Banks said in the Friday press release announcing the removals. 

In closing their statement denouncing Sutton鈥檚 removal, the Education Council Consortium said, 鈥渋t is indeed a 鈥榮ad day鈥� when New York City Public Schools uncovers a new way to further erode any confidence in this administration.鈥�

A December investigation by 社区黑料 previously revealed Maron said in a private chat that, 鈥渢here is no such thing as trans kids.鈥� Banks categorized her remarks as 鈥渄espicable鈥� and promised to take action. By March, a petition to remove her from Stuyvesant High School鈥檚 school leadership team for 鈥渂igotry鈥� amassed more than 700 signatures. In April, the DOE ordered her to cease 鈥�derogatory鈥� conduct. 

For months, parents and city leaders condemned Maron for leading a push to re-examine the city鈥檚 guidelines for trans students鈥� participation in sports, and for calling an anonymous student author a 鈥渃oward,鈥� accusing them of 鈥淛ew hatred,鈥� for an op-ed accusing Israel of genocide. 

Across the East River, Sutton was subject to investigation for supporting a student walkout for a ceasefire in Gaza, including posting a digital toolkit and protest chants. In the letter listing his reasons for removing her, Banks said the materials shared by Sutton were 鈥減erceived by many community members as anti-Israel and antisemitic.鈥�  

The reported Sutton, then the president and only Black member of District 14 council, had support from many families in her district who believe she was 鈥渦nfairly targeted鈥� for her advocacy for Palestine and that the DOE did little to safeguard her council against death threats. Sutton said she was also mailed an envelope of human feces. 

In a recent op-ed in the , Maron defended her actions and revealed Banks鈥檚 鈥渙fficial鈥� reasoning for her removal pointed to the comments made against the anonymous student author. 鈥淏ut the real reason the Chancellor wants to remove me is because the Democratic establishment in New York City is furious because I know the difference between male and female and am willing to say so in polite company.鈥� she wrote. 

In the letter issuing Sutton鈥檚 removal, Banks alleged Sutton violated open meetings laws for moving council meetings online, a decision she maintains was made over safety concerns after violent threats and multiple police reports, for which the DOE offered to provide additional NYPD officers at in-person meetings. 

Sutton told 社区黑料 she was never questioned by the DOE鈥檚 equity council for the alleged OML violations, only regarding her advocacy. state that videoconferencing or hybrid meetings may be permitted under 鈥渆xtraordinary circumstances,鈥� and do not state that violations may result in removal. 

鈥淚f we were so out of compliance, why did you wait until June to remove me?鈥� Sutton said. 鈥淏ecause you were waiting for Maron鈥檚 situation to get so hot that you could remove us together, so you could pretend that what I did is equal to what she did.鈥�  

David Bloomfield, an education law professor with Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center, believes it was no accident Maron and Sutton were removed simultaneously, and questioned the precedent set for free speech. 

鈥淗e seems to be treating them as similar situations and trying to balance the scales by removing a left wing member and a right wing member,鈥� said Bloomfield.

While he did not question Banks鈥檚 legal right to remove Maron and Sutton, Bloomfield charged the precedent set is, 鈥減recisely what the First Amendment is supposed to protect against, which is the chilling of speech and particularly of political speech.鈥� 

Maron is one of three plaintiffs Sutton, Banks and District 14鈥檚 council for violating the First Amendment and suppressing parent voices. She has recently launched a consultancy group called ThirdRail, which promises to 鈥渉elp neutralize counterproductive DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] initiatives鈥� and build 鈥渇lourishing workplaces where ideas 鈥� not ideologies 鈥� inspire strategy.鈥� 

Maud Maron, subject of the April order and a member of Manhattan鈥檚 District 2 community education council, has received widespread criticism from lawmakers, city leaders and parents for anti-LGBTQ, specifically anti-trans, comments made in private texts first published by 社区黑料, including 鈥渢here is no such thing as trans kids.鈥� 

A few months later, in the , she called an anonymous Stuyvesant High School student journalist a 鈥渃oward,鈥� accusing them of 鈥淛ew hatred.鈥� 

In the April 17 order, deputy chancellor Kenita Lloyd ordered that she 鈥渃ease engaging in conduct involving derogatory or offensive comments about any New York City Public School student, and conduct that serves to harass, intimidate, or threaten, including but not limited to frequent verbal abuse and unnecessary aggressive speech that serves to intimidate and cause others to have concern for their personal safety, which is prohibited by Chancellor鈥檚 Regulation D-210.鈥� 

Lloyd went on to write that Maron could face 鈥渟uspension or removal鈥� if she did not comply with the order. The directive offered Maron a voluntary 鈥渃onciliation鈥� meeting with a schools equity officer.

In a statement Maron told 社区黑料 she 鈥渃annot possibly comply with a directive to cease doing something when that 鈥榮omething鈥� has never been communicated to me,鈥� adding that DOE leadership have never provided her with any 鈥渄ates, places, quotes, people or any information.鈥� 

She also categorized the 鈥減rocedure鈥� as 鈥淜afkaesque,鈥� 鈥渂izarre,鈥� 鈥渟peech-chilling,鈥� and an 鈥渆mbarrassment鈥� to the city school system. 

But some critics said the department鈥檚 order is too little, too late, stopping short of Maron鈥檚 removal, which community members have demanded at education council meetings for months.

鈥淚鈥檓 doubtful an order like that will really make a difference because [Maron] has shown she has no qualms whatsoever about targeting students with abuse and hateful rhetoric,鈥� said fellow District 2 parent and council member Gavin Healy.

Schools Chancellor David Banks previously called Maron鈥檚 behavior 鈥渄espicable,鈥� promising to 鈥渢ake action鈥� nearly four months ago. 

In the months since, Maron at a Moms for Liberty event and continued parent leadership duties,  including sponsoring a resolution to reassess the city鈥檚 gender guidelines for student sports. The resolution was swiftly condemned by lawmakers and advocates, fearful any change would limit trans students鈥� rights and open doors for anti-trans violence. 

Nearly 800 District 2 community members also signed a petition to have Maron removed from Stuyvesant High School鈥檚 leadership team after her February comments in the Post about the anonymous student, where she urged the writer to make their name public for their opinions about the Israel-Gaza war.

Parents called the rhetoric harassment and a danger to student safety and free speech. 

Due to the DOE鈥檚 memo鈥檚 vague language, it鈥檚 unclear which of Maron鈥檚 remarks were the subject of complaint and investigation that warranted the cease order. 

鈥淚 have never named any student or directly addressed any student in a manner other than polite, friendly and professional,鈥� Maron said. She is now among several parents , alleging censorship and stifling of free speech.

In a move condemned by advocates and lawmakers as an attack on trans students who fear any change to could also increase bullying and violence, passed 8-3 Wednesday evening. 

鈥淲e know sports build self confidence and a sense of belonging, which is especially critical for this group of students. Rather than excluding our trans students we ought to be working together to wrap our arms around them. They need love, encouragement and support, not political attacks,鈥� said NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks Wednesday evening. 

After citing statistics that one in three trans youth are suicidal and one in three are survivors of abuse, Banks called the resolution 鈥渄espicable鈥� and, in an exasperated tone, posed a question: 鈥淲ould you just leave the kids alone?鈥� 

At a packed District 2 community education council meeting, ACLU civil rights lawyer and District 2 parent Chase Strangio pointed out the current gender guidelines align with state law. 鈥淪o this resolution does nothing but target trans young people,鈥� Santiago said. 

鈥淚 will not sit idly by and see the same misinformed efforts be pushed in my own school district. I will not let NYC, the birthplace and home of some of the most powerful trans people in history, be yet another testing ground for rhetoric that expels my community,鈥� said Strangio, who is trans.

The resolution urges that a reevaluation committee be formed to include female athletes, parents, coaches, medical professionals and evolutionary biology experts, and claims current guidelines 鈥減resent challenges鈥� particularly to girls. The resolution鈥檚 primary sponsor, Maud Maron, said the resolution is in essence asking to hear from all 鈥渋mpacted voices,鈥� according to . 

Given the Chancellor鈥檚 condemnation and that community education councils are advisory, it is unlikely DOE leaders will follow the council鈥檚 recommendation. 

In December, Banks also used the word 鈥渄espicable鈥� to describe comments made by Maron in a private chat, which included 鈥渢rans kids don鈥檛 exist.鈥� Parents and advocates have grown increasingly frustrated with the Chancellor鈥� broken promise to 鈥渢ake action,鈥� made more than three months ago. 

In the time since Banks made his pledge, Community Board 2 issued a resolution demanding the DOE acknowledge and require parent leaders adhere to respective guidelines on bullying and fostering a safe learning environment for all students, particularly LGBTQ students. The late February resolution also encouraged penalties for parents found in violation of Chancellor regulations, including verbal and written warnings and/or suspension of involvement.

Separately, several District 2 CEC members wrote in a February email to Banks that went unanswered that parents鈥� and students鈥� rights and protections 鈥渃ontinue to be unabashedly violated.鈥� 

In the district which includes hyper-liberal neighborhoods like Chelsea and Greenwich Village, the resolution and restricting LGBTQ student rights doesn鈥檛 hold broad public support, parents say. 

鈥淭here really wasn’t a debate in our community,鈥� said district 2 parent and CEC member Gavin Healy. 鈥淚t was very much like 鈥榳e don’t like this, we don’t want this.鈥欌��

Dozens of community members spoke out against the gender resolution with only one expressing support. All but two of 175 emails received by the council in advance of its vote were against its passage. 

At least 25 states, concentrated in the south and midwest, have introduced consistent with their gender identity. 

But the resolution鈥檚 introduction and passage in New York City is unsurprising, given parent leaders with conservative-leaning education desires endorsed by Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum make up . The group, known as PLACE, was co-founded by Maron. 

鈥淚 think they really want something that they can take back to Moms for Liberty and use it as a PR stunt 鈥� look, even in Manhattan there’s this concern,鈥� said Healy. 鈥淚t has to do with that national, moral panic that they are fueling. It鈥檚 fodder.鈥�

Conservative parent voices have been rising in the city. Moms for Liberty, which advocates for parental rights and is categorized as an extremist hate organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center, opened its first chapter in NYC last year. Maron spoke on a the group held in January. 

This particular gender resolution is 鈥渓egally unenforceable and dangerous,鈥� said David Bloomfield, Brooklyn College education, law and public policy professor. A is currently underway in suburban Nassau County, New York, where a attempted to ban trans women and girls from public athletic facilities. 

Bloomfield said Maron was 鈥�…exercising her rights as an individual and as an elected official to state her policy preferences, which have been no secret. She’s following through essentially on what her voters asked for,鈥� adding in the past, chancellors such as Richard Carranza have

The gender resolution passed on the same night the council passed another seemingly at odds, one affirming support of LGBTQ students and families. Maron was the only council member to abstain from voting on the resolution in support of LGBTQ students. 

Since December, a petition to have Maron removed from the Stuyvesant High School leadership team has . It circulated after she was quoted in a NY Post article calling an anonymous student author a 鈥渃oward,鈥� accusing them of 鈥淛ew hatred,鈥� calling for their name to be public for their op-ed in the student newspaper.

Many parents and students feel her actions constituted bullying and threaten free speech at the school.

鈥淭he mission is the kids. Getting through the classes. Keeping them safe 鈥� They just don’t need this added pressure,鈥� said one parent speaking on condition of anonymity. 鈥淸Maron] politicizes every situation she can and I feel like any statement she makes is for her own personal gain. It’s not for the school, it’s not for the students.鈥� 

Reem Khalifa, a junior at Stuyvesant, said recent events have been disheartening and made her 鈥渇earful for the people around me. Do they recognize and hold the same beliefs?鈥� 

Maron did not return a request for comment. 

鈥淭he DOE is trying to shield themselves from liability,鈥� said Healy, 鈥渆ven if that means leaving people in the community vulnerable.鈥�