Trump FERPA Crackdown: Schools Hiding Gender Transitions

President Donald Trump’s administration announced a major enforcement action on National Parents’ Day against two school districts accused of concealing students’ gender transitions from their parents, escalating the federal government’s push for parental rights in education.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon revealed the joint Department of Education and Department of Justice crackdown on Monday, targeting Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland and Ann Arbor Public Schools in Michigan. The districts face potential loss of federal funding over alleged violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), according to Fox News.

Background: A Growing Legal and Policy Debate

FERPA, a federal law enacted in 1974, protects the privacy of student education records and guarantees parents the right to access information about their children. The Trump administration interprets the law to mean that information about a student’s gender identity and transition constitutes an educational record that schools cannot lawfully withhold from parents.

The enforcement action follows a series of legal and policy developments over the past 18 months:

March 2025: The Education Department issued a Dear Colleague Letter addressing gender identity and student records, signaling a shift in federal policy.
February 2026: A federal judge in California blocked a forced outing policy, creating competing legal interpretations.
March 2026: The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Mirabelli v. Bonta, affirming broad parental rights in educational settings and providing key legal precedent for the administration’s approach.
June 30, 2026: The Education and Justice departments signed interagency agreements formalizing cooperation on parental rights enforcement.
July 10, 2026: America First Legal filed a lawsuit against Anne Arundel County Public Schools.

The Targeted Districts

In Maryland, America First Legal — the organization led by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller — filed a lawsuit on July 10 against Anne Arundel County Public Schools. The suit alleges that school staff called a female student by male pronouns and actively concealed her gender transition from her parents, denying them access to their child’s educational records and medical information. WTOP reported on the lawsuit’s filing.

In Michigan, Ann Arbor Public Schools maintains a policy that allows teachers and staff to hide a student’s transgender status from parents. The district has been given until August 11 to respond to the federal enforcement notice or risk proceedings to lose federal education funding — a significant financial threat for any public school system.

Official Statements

McMahon called it “unconscionable that any school district would hide the most sensitive information from parents about their own children,” framing the enforcement action as a defense of fundamental parental rights.

Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice, stated that “FERPA protects children and parental rights from illegal gender ideology being imposed in our classrooms.” The enforcement action was authorized through the June 30 interagency agreement between the Education and Justice departments, which formalized a cooperative framework for investigating and prosecuting FERPA violations.

Broader Implications for Schools Nationwide

The crackdown represents a significant expansion of federal oversight into local education policy. Fox News reported that the administration has signaled FERPA enforcement as a top priority, building on earlier Title IX investigations opened against multiple school districts across the country.

Legal analysts at Miller Johnson have noted that the administration’s interpretation of FERPA could require school districts nationwide to overhaul policies regarding student gender identity information. Schools that have adopted nondisclosure policies — in which staff are instructed not to reveal a student’s gender transition to parents — could face similar enforcement actions.

What to Watch

Ann Arbor Public Schools faces an August 11 deadline to respond. Noncompliance could trigger formal proceedings to withhold federal funds — a significant threat for districts that rely on federal dollars for programs serving low-income students and students with disabilities.

Legal challenges are widely expected. Civil liberties organizations have argued that forced disclosure policies could endanger transgender students, particularly those in unsupportive home environments. The administration counters that parental rights are fundamental and that schools have no legal basis to withhold education records from parents.

The case tests the limits of executive authority over local education policy and could establish precedents affecting millions of students nationwide. As the August 11 deadline approaches, all eyes will be on Ann Arbor — and on whether other districts will face similar scrutiny.