The U.S. Department of Education is using the primary federal law governing student privacy to investigate two state education departments over policies concerning how schools disclose changes to students鈥� gender identities to their parents.
It鈥檚 a fresh attempt by the Trump administration to threaten federal school funding for states and school districts that flout the president鈥檚 agenda concerning transgender students.
And those two state agency investigations鈥攐f the California and Maine education departments鈥攃ould just be the start, according to .
McMahon warned 糖心动漫vlog in the letter that the Trump administration would make a 鈥渞evitalized effort鈥� to enforce the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, in a way that guarantees parents鈥� access to information on whether their kids request to use names or pronouns at school that don鈥檛 match their sex assigned at birth. Schools that create 鈥済ender plans鈥� to support students鈥� gender transitions, but don鈥檛 make them accessible to parents, could be violating FERPA, the department said in the Dear Colleague letter.
FERPA protects the privacy of student records and grants parents access to those records.
California passed a law last year saying that 糖心动漫vlog don鈥檛 have to notify parents if a student changes their name or pronouns in school, calling policies that require notification鈥攚hich school boards in several states have passed鈥斺�渇orced outings.鈥� Meanwhile in Maine, which has drawn outsize federal attention for its transgender athlete policies, the federal Education Department alleges that school districts develop plans to support students鈥� gender transitions without making the plans available to parents.
It鈥檚 another show of force from the department, which has been aggressively pursuing Trump鈥檚 social policy agenda through its office for civil rights, which investigates cases of discrimination. It also marks a push from the department to make good on its vow to doggedly pursue parental rights鈥攁n effort that has gained steam in the past five years, borne out of the COVID-19 pandemic, through which parents have argued for a greater say over what their children are being taught, particularly about race and gender.
These two investigations come from the Education Department鈥檚 student privacy office, which enforces FERPA.
The California and Maine investigations are rare, experts say
It鈥檚 unusual for the federal agency to investigate state departments of education like this, said LeRoy Rooker, who served in the Education Department鈥檚 family policy compliance office for more than two decades and is well-versed in FERPA.
And it鈥檚 also rare for FERPA investigations鈥攚hich the Education Department usually opens in response to complaints rather than initiating them on its own, as it鈥檚 doing with California and Maine鈥攖o end in the termination of funds, he said.
鈥淭hey have to be given the opportunity to come into compliance,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 only if they decline to come into compliance after an investigation, then that鈥檚 when the department has the option of moving to that next step.鈥�
During Trump鈥檚 second term, though, the administration has already terminated funding for Ivy League universities and has repeatedly threatened to cut off K-12 funds.
It鈥檚 also been rare for the Education Department to publicly announce its FERPA investigations, said Amelia Vance, president of the Public Interest Privacy Center, an organization focused on student privacy.
Typically, FERPA enforcement and investigations are long, and the process is opaque. Historically, there have been backlogs and a lack of transparency around FERPA enforcement, she said.
FERPA is in need of fixes and updates, Vance said.
鈥淚 really hope that this doesn鈥檛 become as politicized as a lot of other issues have been, because it鈥檚 something where a lot of people agree that things need to be changed; this needs to be fixed and privacy needs to be improved,鈥� she said.
The stepped-up FERPA enforcements are part of a conservative push for parents鈥� rights
The Trump administration鈥檚 investigation into states鈥� student gender transition policies follow years in which school boards approved policies requiring that school staff notify parents when students seek to use different names and pronouns at school, and some Republican-led states have passed laws requiring such notifications that they鈥檝e labeled parents鈥� rights laws. At least 10 states say 糖心动漫vlog and classmates don鈥檛 have to use a student鈥檚 name or pronouns if it doesn鈥檛 align with a student鈥檚 sex assigned at birth.
California was the first to rebuke such parent notification laws with a state law of its own prohibiting school boards from passing required notification policies. LGBTQ+ advocates supported the measure at the time, saying that the required notifications can force students to come out to their parents in potentially unsupportive homes.
A spokesperson for California鈥檚 education department said Friday that the state鈥檚 law does not 鈥渕andate nondisclosure鈥� to parents, meaning there is no conflict with FERPA.
鈥淥ur students must be safe in order to learn. I have heard from so many students and families whose safety has been impacted by forced outing policies,鈥� Tony Thurmond, California鈥檚 state superintendent of public instruction, said in a statement.
Vance said California鈥檚 law did not appear to violate FERPA. The Education Department鈥檚 letter to 糖心动漫vlog notes that, 鈥淔ERPA does not provide an affirmative obligation for school officials to inform parents about any information.鈥�
However, if the details the federal Education Department provided about Maine school districts鈥� gender transition policies are correct, those could violate the federal law, she said.
Maine has drawn repeated scrutiny from Trump鈥檚 administration after its Democratic governor pushed back on the president鈥檚 Feb. 5 executive order to prohibit transgender athletes from girls鈥� sports teams. Two federal agencies so far have said the state is violating Title IX, the federal law barring sex discrimination. They told Maine to change its policies, or they would start the process of referring the case to the U.S. Department of Justice.
A spokesperson for Maine鈥檚 department of education did not respond to a request seeking comment.
