DOJ Sues Maryland School District Over Secret Gender‑Transition Policies
The Justice Department has slammed a Maryland school district with a federal lawsuit alleging secret gender‑transition policies that hide students’ identities from parents. The suit, filed on Oct. 27, accuses Anne Arundel County Public Schools of violating federal privacy and parental‑rights laws.
The 31‑page complaint says staff must solicit and document students’ preferred pronouns and names without notifying parents. It also claims the district blocks parental involvement by labeling disclosure a “safety concern.”
The DOJ alleges the district denied parents access to education records required under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, even as a student identified as Mary Doe requested a male name at school while staff shared it with other parents but not with her own.
According to the filing, the district also violated the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment by allowing sensitive surveys without written parental consent or advance notice.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said the department will end “illegal school policies” that withhold information from parents. “Schools should not discuss preferred pronouns or ‘gender identity’ with a student without parental notification and consent,” he added. “Parents should not be lied to, stonewalled, or branded as ‘safety concerns’ when they ask to see the education records that reveal what schools are secretly doing to their children.”
Anne Arundel County Public Schools disagrees with the allegations, calling the DOJ’s decision to sue “regrettable.” The district says its policies comply with federal law and notes that it updated its gender‑related rules in August after receiving a DOJ letter.
Superintendent Mark Bedell said the revised policies clarify that parents have the right to inspect and review their children’s complete education record, and the district maintains it has been in regular contact with the DOJ.
The department also filed a separate lawsuit against Kansas City Kansas Public Schools last month, alleging similar violations of parental‑rights statutes; that district has denied the claims.
Tom Gantert and Reuters contributed to this report.
