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this U.S. Department of Education A California policy that allows school districts to keep students from learning about their parents’ gender transition violates federal law, it was announced Wednesday.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said a federal investigation found that California education officials “grossly abused” their power by pressuring school districts to withhold information about students’ gender transitions from parents.
“Under Gavin Newsom’s failed leadership, school staff have even boasted about promoting ‘gender transition’ and shared strategies to target minors and withheld information about children from their own families,” she said in a statement. “While the Biden administration turns a blind eye to this denial of parental rights and supports the irreversible harm to children in the name of radical transgender ideology, the Trump administration will work tirelessly to end this.”
“Children do not belong to the state, they belong to families. We will use every mechanism available to hold California accountable for these practices and restore parental rights,” the secretary added.
The U.S. Department of Education says a California policy that allows school districts to keep students from learning about their parents’ gender transition violates federal law. (Getty Images)
California Department of Education spokesperson Liz Sanders said in a statement to Politico that the department is reviewing the letter McMahon sent, but “we do believe we have addressed the substance of the letter in previous communications.”
State education officials told school districts in October that state policy “does not mandate confidentiality.”
If state officials don’t work with the Trump administration to resolve the violations, the federal findings could put at risk nearly $8 billion in annual education funding the federal government provides to the state.
The federal government said California could take several actions to address these violations, including issuing a notice to all school district superintendents and administrators that “gender support plans” or other relevant documents directly related to students are considered education records and subject to parent inspection upon request, and notifying school district superintendents and administrators that state law may not be interpreted to undermine or contradict federal law.
School districts are required to confirm they comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law that gives parents the right to inspect their children’s records, while states are required to add federally approved content to their LGBTQ+ cultural competency training.
State Policy AB 1955, signed into law by the Governor. Gavin Newsome By 2024, it will be prohibited to inform parents of transgender and gay students’ gender identity or sexual orientation without the student’s consent.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said a federal investigation found that California officials “grossly abused” their power by pressuring school districts not to inform parents about students’ gender transitions. (Anna Chanmemaker/Getty Images)
Last spring, the federal government launched an investigation into the state’s Department of Education, saying state officials were helping “social transformation of children in schools while concealing the minors’ ‘gender identity’ from their parents.”
The federal agency also claims the state violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
“AB 1955 does not prohibit LEA staff from sharing any information with parents,” state officials wrote to school districts in October, Politico reported. “Based on the plain language of both laws, there is no conflict between AB 1955 and FERPA, both of which allow parents to access a student’s education records upon request.”
Newsom’s office said last year that “parents will continue to have full and guaranteed access to their students’ education records, as required by federal law,” Politico reported.
The Golden State’s policy also faces court scrutiny.
The state policy, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2024, prohibits informing parents of transgender and gay students’ gender identity or sexual orientation. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
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federal judge rules Last month, an appeals court ruled that schools could not prevent teachers from sharing information about students’ gender identities with parents. A group of California parents who filed the case are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate the earlier ruling.
The Trump administration is also taking legal action against California and threatening to withhold funding for policies that would allow biological males to compete in women’s sports.
