Ed. Dept. to California: Hiding Students’ ‘Gender Identity’ From Parents is Illegal
The California Department of Education (CDE) is violating federal law by hiding information about students’ “gender identity” from parents, the U.S. Department of Education found last week.
The department’s Student Privacy Policy Office concluded CDE “is in continued violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) — a federal law granting parents the right to access their child’s education records.”
In a press release announcing the findings, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon explained:
McMahon added that this deprived parents of their rights, pointedly stating:
In July 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 1955, euphemistically labeled the “SAFETY Act” — “Support Academic Futures and Equality for Today’s Youth.”
That bill states:
According to the CDE website, AB 1955 banned “forced outing,” stating that employees “shall not be required to disclose any information related to a pupil’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person without the pupil’s consent unless otherwise required by state or federal law.”
The SAFETY Act also invalidated any policies requiring school employees to disclose information about a student’s “sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression” to their parents.
The U.S. Education Department found that AB 1955 “directly violates parents’ rights under FERPA to inspect all education records related to their minor children.”
The department cited a report from The Daily Caller that “at least 300 students in California were put on ‘Gender Support Plans,’ many without parental consent or knowledge.”
California Family Council President Jonathan Keller noted the importance of the Education Department’s actions for parents, saying, “Today’s finding by the Department of Education confirms what California parents have known all along: the state has been abusing its power to cut moms and dads out of the most important decisions in their children’s lives.”
Keller added, “Parents have the legal and moral right to know what schools are doing with their children.”
The Student Privacy Policy Office is asking the CDE to “voluntarily resolve its FERPA violations” by, among other actions:
• “Issuing a notice to all superintendents and administrators informing them that “gender support plans” or other related documentation directly related to a student are considered education records under FERPA and are subject to parental inspection upon request.
• “Publicizing that there is no ‘unofficial records’ exception to FERPA and further notifying superintendents and administrators that AB 1955, as well as any other California laws, regulations, or policies, should not be interpreted to undermine or contradict federal law.
• “Adding FERPA training content to state-mandated “LGBTQ cultural competency training”for teachers and other certificated employees.”
The U.S. Department of Education also told the state that future violations of FERPA could lead to loss of federal funds. That money totaled about $8 billion in 2024-2025, EdSource reported, about 6% of California’s K-12 funding.
Related articles and resources:
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