The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland, alleging that the district violated parents’ rights by allowing transgender and gender-questioning students to use different names and pronouns at school without notifying their parents.
The lawsuit claims the school system withheld information about students’ gender identities and restricted parents’ access to certain educational records. Federal officials argue that the district’s policies conflict with federal laws governing student privacy and parental access to education records.
According to the Justice Department, the lawsuit seeks to block the challenged policies and require the district to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).
The legal action follows earlier scrutiny from the Trump administration over the district’s approach to gender identity and communication with parents.
Justice Department Challenges School District’s Gender Identity Policies
The Justice Department alleges that Anne Arundel County Public Schools directs employees to ask students about their preferred names, pronouns and gender identities, document that information and use it at school without notifying parents.
Federal officials also claim the district treats certain gender identity information as confidential and instructs staff to withhold it from parents when disclosure is considered a potential safety risk to a student.
The complaint further alleges that the school system shares gender identity information with the Maryland State Department of Education without informing parents or giving them an opportunity to challenge the accuracy of the information.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division criticized the district’s policies in a statement.
“Schools should not discuss preferred pronouns or ‘gender identity’ with a student without parental notification and consent,” Dhillon said.
She also argued that parents should have access to educational records concerning their children and said the department would pursue policies it considers unlawful when they limit that access.
The allegations outlined in the lawsuit have not, by themselves, established that the school district violated federal law. The case will address the legal dispute over the district’s policies and parental access to student information.
Earlier Lawsuits Drew Federal Attention to the District
Anne Arundel County Public Schools previously faced scrutiny from the Trump administration after two families filed lawsuits alleging that school employees helped a student transition at school without informing the student’s parents.
The Justice Department’s complaint also describes an anonymous family that allegedly discovered school staff were helping their daughter present as male at school after receiving an email that referred to the student using male pronouns.
These allegations contributed to the broader dispute over how schools should balance student privacy, safety concerns and parents’ rights to information about their children.
The case also raises questions about how federal student privacy laws apply to school policies involving transgender students and the disclosure of gender identity information to parents.
District Amended Its Gender Identity Policy in August
In August, Anne Arundel County Public Schools amended its gender identity policy after the Trump administration threatened legal action and the potential loss of federal funding.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Bedell announced the policy changes in a letter published by the school district. He said the district was updating its policies concerning safe and inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ students while addressing compliance with FERPA.
The revised policy clarifies that parents have the right to inspect and review their children’s complete educational records.
Bedell also stated that no district policy could interfere with parents’ rights to information about a student’s gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, preferred name or pronouns.
Despite those changes, the Justice Department has now filed a lawsuit challenging the district’s policies and alleging that parents’ access to information was improperly restricted.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools Asked for Comment
CBS News Baltimore reported that it contacted Anne Arundel County Public Schools for comment on the lawsuit but had not received a response at the time of its report.
The lawsuit places the district’s policies under further legal scrutiny as the federal government challenges school practices involving gender identity, student privacy and parental notification.
The outcome will depend on the legal arguments and evidence presented in court, including the application of federal education privacy laws to the district’s policies.
This article is based on the reported allegations and statements described above. The lawsuit’s claims should not be interpreted as a final judicial finding.
