The Trump administration is taking enforcement actions against two school districts accused of concealing students' gender transitions from their parents, a move that could lead to the withholding of federal funding. The Department of Education, working with the Department of Justice, is investigating potential violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated that the administration is actively defending parental rights and will use all available tools to hold districts accountable for such actions. "As a mother and a grandmother, it is unconscionable that any school district would hide the most sensitive information about children in their care from their own parents," McMahon told Fox News Digital. "This is not only an affront to basic moral principles, but also to parents’ rights under federal law."
The investigations target Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland and Ann Arbor Public Schools in Michigan. FERPA grants parents the right to access their children's school records and control the dissemination of information.
In Maryland, the administration is reviewing allegations that school staff presented a student as male without the parents' knowledge or consent. The parents reportedly learned of the situation through an email using male pronouns for their daughter, and school administrators allegedly refused to provide further details or records related to the child's gender transition.
The probe into Ann Arbor Public Schools concerns a policy that permits school officials to help students conceal their transgender status from parents. The district maintains records related to a student's gender identity in a separate filing system. Ann Arbor Public Schools has been given until August 11, 2026, to justify its policy or risk losing federal funding.
These actions align with President Donald Trump's stated opposition to what is described as "radical left-wing gender ideology" in schools and his administration's emphasis on parental rights in education. The Education Department has also initiated Title IX investigations into school districts in Michigan and North Carolina concerning transgender policies.