Federal education officials have concluded that California’s aggressive enforcement of gender secrecy policies in public schools violates federal law and federal parental rights protections. The U.S. Department of Education’s decision challenges state requirements that school staff hide a child’s gender identity from parents, asserting these practices conflict with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
The Education Department notified the California Department of Education that its policies pressured school districts to conceal records related to a student’s gender identity or so-called “gender transition” from parents without legitimate legal basis. Federal officials say the state has even pursued legal actions against districts that follow FERPA and provide parents access to their children’s educational records.
Under FERPA, parents have the right to access all of their minor children’s education records. Federal investigators found a “systemic problem” in which schools maintained secret records, including so-called “gender support plans,” while claiming those records were not part of the cumulative records that parents can review. Federal authorities have given California two weeks to respond and comply with the federal law.
The clash between state and federal law follows broader legal developments. In late 2025, a federal judge permanently barred California from enforcing policies that require schools to hide a student’s gender identity from parents, ruling such rules unconstitutional and violating parents’ fundamental rights. The order halted enforcement of so-called “parental exclusion” policies and affirmed parental access to information about a child’s gender identity or social transition.
The Education Department’s action highlights rising federal scrutiny of state and local education policies that appear to restrict parental rights. Federal officials emphasized that state laws do not override federal protections for parental access to education records and that schools must comply with FERPA’s requirements.
