US Government launches enforcement action against LA Unified over parental rights

The U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice have initiated an enforcement action against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second-largest school district in the nation. The federal agencies allege that LAUSD policies improperly conceal sensitive student information, such as a student's gender identity, from their parents. This action could potentially lead to the loss of federal funding for the district.

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated that under the current administration, parents were "labeled as terrorists, targeted, and investigated by a government weaponized against them," contrasting it with the current approach. "That era is over," she added, expressing gratitude to the Department of Justice for partnering to hold "rogue schools accountable."

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon emphasized the administration's stance, asserting, "The Biden-Harris DOJ labeled concerned parents as threats for exercising their right to know what was happening at their kids’ schools." Dhillon also stated, "Parents are children’s natural providers and protectors."

The federal agencies specifically pointed to LAUSD policies that direct employees to "privately ask the student how they want to be referred to when communicating with parents/legal guardians" and to keep a student's self-professed "gender identity" private or confidential, even from parents. The administration contends these policies violate federal laws, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).

FERPA safeguards the privacy of students' educational records and grants parents the right to access these records. PPRA provides additional protections regarding sensitive subjects in school surveys and requires parental consent for certain mental health screenings or similar evaluations, stating that opt-out options are insufficient.

The joint letter sent to state attorneys general warned that non-compliance with FERPA or PPRA could result in the termination of federal funding for educational institutions.

Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley Unified School District board and a candidate for California superintendent of public instruction, viewed the federal action as validation for parental rights advocates. "Today, the Trump administration’s Department of Education and Department of Justice are saying what parents have known all along: Parents are not terrorists," Shaw said. "We have the right to know the most sensitive information about our own kids."

This action echoes a controversy from 2021 when Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the FBI to address threats against school officials following a request from the National School Boards Association (NSBA). The NSBA had characterized some conduct at school board meetings as potentially amounting to "a form of domestic terrorism." Emails later revealed that NSBA officials had communicated with the White House before sending their letter, which sparked backlash from parents' rights groups who felt federal authorities were treating activism as a national security issue. Garland had at the time clarified that parents had First Amendment rights and the Department of Justice memorandum was not intended to target parents expressing concerns about their children's education.