A new directive from the U.S. Department of Education requires schools to give parents access to all of their children’s educational records, including those related to gender identity.
A Dear Colleague letter sent to educators Friday from the department’s Student Privacy Policy Office alleges many state educational agencies (SEAs) and their respective local educational agencies (LEAs) have misinterpreted federal student privacy laws in ways that prevent parents from knowing when their child is going by a different name or pronoun in school or about their mental and physical wellbeing. For instance, the letter says, schools often create “Gender Plans” for students and assert that those plans are not “education records” and therefore are inaccessible to the parent(s).
The directive notifies superintendents and state education commissioners that they have an obligation to comply under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). FERPA gives parents the right to access their children’s educational records, the right to request record corrections or amendments, and the right to control disclosure of personally identifiable information in education records. PPRA gives parents notice and opt-out rights when a school administers surveys or questionnaires asking students for certain private information about themselves and their families. Institutions that fail to comply may face investigation and loss of federal funding, the letter says.
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“Parents are the most natural protectors of their children. Yet many states and school districts have enacted policies that imply students need protection from their parents,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “These states and school districts have turned the concept of privacy on its head—prioritizing the privileges of government officials over the rights of parents and wellbeing of families. Going forward, the correct application of FERPA will be to empower all parents to protect their children from the radical ideologies that have taken over many schools.”
LeRoy Rooker, who oversaw FERPA administration at the Department of Education for 21 years, told Chalkbeat that FERPA doesn’t require schools to notify parents about changes in a student’s gender identity or reveal information that isn’t part of a written record, which he says is not a new interpretation of the law. However, school’s can’t withhold records that parents request. The new directive requires parents receive annual notification of their rights to access student records.
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Advocates for LGBTQ+ youth say most schools try to involve parents but not all parents are safe or supportive. Chris Hartman, executive director of the Louisville-based Fairness Campaign, told Lexington Herald-Leader that the new order is cruel and discriminatory.
“The Trump administration’s main goal, it seems, is to stay in federal court for the entirety of his second term,” he said. “This attempt to endanger transgender kids across our country is cruel, and it won’t withstand the forthcoming legal challenges. I hope to see many Kentucky schools resist and defy the administration’s discriminatory actions.”
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In a cover letter, McMahon said by using students’ preferred names and pronouns, some schools have set children and teens on a path toward medical transitions that they later regret.
“The practice of encouraging children down a path with irreversible repercussions — and hiding it from parents — must end,” McMahon wrote. “Attempts by school officials to separate children from their parents, convince children to feel unsafe at home, or burden children with the weight of keeping secrets from their loved ones is a direct affront to the family unit. When such conduct violates the law the Department will take swift action.”
All SEAs must submit documentation that they and their respective LEAs are complying with FERPA and PPRA.
