The New York State Department of Education has issued an order to schools all across the state over the use of Native American Mascots.

The state department of Education sent out a memo to all school districts in the state on November 17th outlining the usage of Native American mascots.

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In the memo, the New York State Department of Education wants all Native American mascot usage by the end of the 2022-23 school season.

SED has consistently opposed the use of Native American mascots. In 2001, former Commissioner of Education Richard P. Mills issued a memorandum “conclud[ing] that the use of Native American symbols or depictions as mascots can become a barrier to building a safe and nurturing school community and improving academic achievement for all students.”

The memo outlines what penalties school districts would face if they didn't comply with the new ruling by the State Department of Education.

Schools that don't drop Native American mascots by the deadline risk losing state funding and school officers could be replaced.

Several school districts have already switched mascots over the past couple of years. Lancaster High School in Lancaster, New York switched over to the nickname the Legends from Redskins on June 8th, 2015.

More recently Waterloo and Lyme Central School Districts have also changed their mascots and logos from Native American likenesses to their current ones.

The New York State Department of Education says the switch from Native American mascots is step in the right direction to showing respect to the Native Americans who live across New York State.

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