Parents Get Back the Keys to Their Kids’ School Records

The federal Education Department and Justice are stepping in after discovering that two school districts may have kept parents from seeing crucial student information.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools (Maryland)

• Accusation: The district allegedly labeled a child’s gender transition as “confidential medical information,” preventing parents from learning about their daughter’s health status.
• Discovery: Parents learned of the school’s support for a male presentation only after an email used a male pronoun.
• Response: When parents requested details, the principal and assistant principal refused to share records or explain policy.

Legal Framework

• FERPA Violation: The Department’s Student Privacy Policy Office states these actions violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which guarantees parents access to their children’s education records.
• Enforcement: The Office is partnering with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to consider enforcement, potentially involving court action or loss of federal funding.
• Deadline: Districts have been given a deadline to justify their practices and avoid enforcement.

Ann Arbor Public Schools (Michigan)

• Policy: The district reportedly requires staff to keep a child’s transgender status hidden from parents, storing related records in separate files.
• Warning: The Education Department has warned that if the district does not justify this practice by August 10, it will face imminent enforcement action.

Broader Context

• The Department’s March 2025 letter to state superintendents labeled hiding gender identity information from parents as a priority concern.
• Earlier investigations revealed that some districts use secret “gender support plans” and software tricks to keep parents in the dark.
• FERPA violations can lead to schools losing federal money, a serious penalty underscoring the importance of parental rights under the law.

Department’s Commitment

• The Department says it will continue pushing for compliance and will not tolerate districts that sidestep or distort FERPA.
• The goal is to ensure parents always know what matters about their children’s education and well‑being.