Since the beginning of the Trump administration, the Department of Education has been trying to get left-wing school districts to stop hiding changes in students’ claimed “gender identity” from their parents, always with the threat of revoking federal funds. A year and a half in, schools are still noncompliant, or dragging their feet, and it is time for the federal government to make good on the threat.
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The department on Thursday said it was “demand[ing] clarity” from California and Washington on how they will “revise” their policies, so that the two states start informing parents of serious medical concerns, like whether their children start to show signs of gender dysphoria, instead of encouraging and advancing the delusion.
“Schools must end the practice of concealing vitally important information about students from parents who love them,” said Frank Miller, director of the Student Privacy Policy Office. “We are providing California and Washington the opportunity to explain to the Department and the families they serve how they are revising their policies to come into compliance with federal law. SPPO is determined to hold educational institutions accountable and ensure the protection of parental rights.”
The Education Department stated that the U.S. Supreme Court in Mirabelli v. Olson recognized that “under long-established precedent, parents — not the State — have primary authority with respect to the upbringing and education of children.” It also pointed to a 9th Circuit , based on Mirabelli, stating that California’s law hiding such information from parents is likely unconstitutional.
However, despite those cases, and despite the fact that the department found California in violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) back in January, the department has still not revoked California’s funding because of its efforts to push radical gender ideology in schools while hiding the fallout from concerned parents.
Washington appears similarly situated to drag out the conflict, with State Superintendent Chris Reykdal releasing a lengthy statement Thursday calling attempts to restore parental rights, and stop grooming children at school, a “stunt,” claiming that the state really does comply with federal law, before stating, “might we suggest they demand charges against any number of persons identified in the Epstein files or those who allegedly committed abuses of the ‘ring boys’ at the World Wrestling Entertainment company?”
But California and Washington are not the only states with these problems. As The Federalist reported in March 2025, Maine has nearly the exact same policy, which prompted a Department of Education investigation and similar direction to comply with FERPA.
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On Monday, the department put Maryland’s Anne Arundel County Public Schools and Michigan’s Ann Arbor Public Schools on notice that the Department of Justice is now involved with “enforcement action” for their policies hiding claimed “transgender identities” from parents.
According to the Education Department, “parents in Anne Arundel County who discovered that the school was secretly helping their daughter pretend to be male at school after the parents received an email that referred to their daughter by male pronouns. When the parents approached school administrators about the matter, the principal declined to provide details about the student’s ‘gender transition,’ and the assistant principal refused to turn over the child’s relevant records.”
Enforcement action against Anne Arundel would include “applicable judicial proceedings and potential loss of federal funding.” Ann Arbor, on the other hand, has been given until Aug. 10 “to demonstrate why ED and DOJ should not move forward with enforcement.”
“FERPA is not optional, and any districts that attempt to bypass or distort its requirements should expect immediate federal action,” Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said. “In partnership with the Department of Education, the Department of Justice will initiate enforcement proceedings with districts that fail to comply.”
Some attempts to revoke federal funding from states for other issues in the past have seen defeats in court, but that may just be a signal that the department needs to be more creative with how funds are being withheld.
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