Justice Department targets Maryland school district in new parental rights lawsuit

The Department of Justice claims Anne Arundel County Public Schools' policies illegally withhold gender-related information from parents.(CN) — The federal government is suing a Maryland school board, saying it violates federal law by facilitating “secret transitioning” of children’s gender identities without their parents’ knowledge or consent.Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ policies direct its staff to solicit and document gender-related information from students without parental knowledge or consent, the Department of Justice claims in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Maryland.“These policies require staff to facilitate a student’s social transition at school, to memorialize that transition in education records, and to obscure or withhold this information from parents,” the federal government says in the complaint. “They further prioritize staff to restrict or exclude parental involvement based solely on a unilateral claim of a ‘safety concern’ — with no process for parents to rebut that claim — enabling employees to conceal information while acting on it within the school environment.”Debates over the rights and protections of transgender students have sharply divided communities and school systems across the country over the past several years. Some school officials have said measures are needed to keep trans students safe, while opponents — including many supporters of President Donald Trump — argue the policies violate parental rights and even create safety issues for other students.The federal government points to a specific case at defendant school district, saying it applied its policies to a female student by calling her by a name that didn’t match her legal name or sex. The government said the district illegally obtained the student’s information and withheld it from her parents.“When Mary’s parents tried to exercise their rights to their daughter’s education records, AACPS staff told them some records require an appointment and others subpoena,” the government says in the complaint, adding that conduct violated a federal law allowing parents to, among other things, see their children’s education records and prevent the unauthorized disclosure of identifying information.The government says the school district violated another related law guaranteeing minor students are not required to take part in surveys or evaluations revealing sensitive information in protected categories without prior parental consent.The DOJ lists a number of arguments in its lawsuit, including that children are generally less mature and responsible than adults. The government also says children are more susceptible to outside pressure than adults and that parents have primary authority to the upbringing and education of their children.“A school district’s decision to conceal information from parents and facilitate a degree of ‘gender transitioning’ likely violates parents’ fundamental right to direct the upbringing and education of their children,” the government says. “As a condition of federal funding, FERPA governs the rights parents have concerning their children’s education records.”The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment are the two laws the government claims the district has violated.The government is asking the court to require the school district to end policies denying parental rights under those laws. It’s also asking the court to require the district to give parents an opportunity to correct or delete any “inaccurate, misleading or otherwise inappropriate data contained in their children’s education records.”Gloria Dent, the Anne Arundel County school board president, said over the phone Tuesday night that she couldn’t speak at length about the lawsuit yet but the governing body plans to discuss the matter at a meeting Wednesday morning.“I regret that the DOJ continues to pursue litigation,” she said. “Our policy is in compliance with both FERPA and PPRA."Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads