(The Washington Times)—The Trump administration is cracking down on California schools that hide students’ gender-change efforts from parents.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced an investigation into the state for alleged violations of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which “gives parents the right to access their children’s educational data.”
She said that teachers and counselors “should not be in the business of advising minors entrusted to their care on consequential decisions about their sexual identity and mental health.”
The department also warned that FERPA violations “can result in termination of an educational entity’s federal funding.”
Tony Hoang, Equality California’s executive director, blasted the Trump administration for threatening to withhold federal funding, which he said includes $2 billion annually for low-income students and $1.3 billion for students with disabilities.
“California’s laws don’t keep parents in the dark — they simply prevent extremist school boards from passing policies that target transgender youth and intrude into the parent-child relationship,” he said. “LGBTQ+ youth and their families deserve to have sensitive conversations on their own terms and in a way that ensures students feel safe and supported at school.”
California has discouraged schools from informing parents about their children’s opposite-sex gender identities since a 2013 law mandated students have access to facilities, activities and sports programs based on gender identity.
In 2014, the state Department of Education posted a “Frequently Asked Questions” guidance advising schools against notifying parents if their children adopt an opposite-sex identity – such as using different names and pronouns – without student permission.
It said that “schools must consult with a transgender student to determine who can or will be informed of the student’s transgender status, if anyone, including the student’s family.”
After several school districts in 2023 required parental notification, however, California became the first state to ban “forced outing” policies with the passage of Assembly Bill 1955. The law took effect Jan. 1.
The law prohibits school districts from passing parental notification policies, but the state education department said Friday that the measure doesn’t prevent parents from obtaining their children’s official records.
“AB 1955 prohibits local educational agencies from mandating that staff disclose students’ gender identity to parents without student consent, unless otherwise required by state or federal law,” said the department. “AB 1955 does not mandate nondisclosure. Based on the plain language of both laws, there is no conflict between AB 1955 and FERPA, which permits a parent access to their student’s written records upon request.”
Applauding the Trump administration was the Thomas More Society, which filed a lawsuit in 2023 on behalf of two California teachers who objected to withholding information about students’ gender transitions from parents.
“Our clients, teachers who refuse to lie and parents who demand the truth, have been the strong backbone of this fight in California,” said Peter Breen, TMS executive vice president and head of litigation. “We hope that the combination of our class action lawsuit and the U.S. government’s investigation will prove a powerful ‘one-two punch’ that will deliver a knockout blow to these policies in California.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Chino Valley Unified School District over its 2023 parental notification mandate, prompting the school board to broaden the policy to require staff to inform parents when any change is made to a student’s official or unofficial record.
The state declined to file an appeal by the deadline last month after a court ruled that the amended policy passes constitutional muster, allowing Chino Valley to enforce its policy in a move that the Liberty Justice Center cheered as a “victory for parents’ rights.”