Week in review: Migrant 'gravy train' halted; parental rights probes launched; MS-13 leader captured
3. Department of Education launches probes into parental rights concerns
The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that its Student Privacy Policy Office had launched an investigation into the California Department of Education over a law prohibiting school districts from requiring school officials to inform parents if their child has adopted a different gender identity and name.
The investigation stems from concerns that the law in question, California Assembly Bill 1955, violates the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act.
"Teachers and school counselors should not be in the business of advising minors entrusted to their care on consequential decisions about their sexual identity and mental health," said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. "That responsibility and privilege lies with a parent or trusted loved one."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
McMahon insisted that it's "not only immoral but also potentially in contradiction with federal law for California schools to hide crucial information about a student's wellbeing from parents and guardians."
She identified the investigation as an effort to "vigorously protect parents' rights and ensure that students do not fall victim to a radical transgender ideology that often leads to family alienation and irreversible medical interventions."
The Family Educational Rights Privacy Act gives parents the right to access their children's educational records and request corrections or amendments to such records. It also allows them to control the disclosure of information in the records in some cases.
The Trump administration cited Assembly Bill 1955 as evidence that the California Department of Education may have "abdicated the responsibilities FERPA imposes."
The U.S. Department of Education announced Friday that it is opening a similar investigation into the Maine Department of Education over what McMahon described as "teachers and school counselors in Maine reportedly encouraging and helping students to undergo so-called 'gender transitions' while keeping parents in the dark."
Pending the outcome of the investigations, both California and Maine could end up losing federal funding.
School districts nationwide are facing lawsuits for working to conceal information about students' gender identities from parents.
January Littlejohn, who filed a lawsuit against her daughter's Florida school district for working to "socially transition" her daughter without informing her, appeared as a guest at Trump's address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress earlier this month.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
