The Trump Administration Launched Multiple Investigations and Enforcement Actions against Schools for Allegedly Hiding Students’ “Gender Transitions” from Parents

November 10, 2026 - On Monday, the U.S. Department of Education released the following:

Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) is continuing its historic fight to restore parental rights protections by opening several investigations and moving forward with enforcement actions into multiple school districts for policies and alleged incidents that involve hiding students’ “gender transitions” from their parents. Parents have the right to be informed about their child’s mental health and to have access to the most sensitive information about their child’s well-being without schools standing in the way. The Department’s Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) will investigate whether the schools violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).

Recent reports from Albuquerque Public Schools and Santa Fe Public Schools in New Mexico raise concerns that these districts maintain policies that prevent school personnel from sharing information about a child’s ‘gender transition’ or ‘gender identity’ with their parents. In Santa Fe, students were allegedly asked what preferred name or pronoun they wanted to use in class—all without parents knowing or consenting.  Additionally, in Pennsylvania parents allege that the Pennsbury School District facilitated their daughter’s so-called “social transition” to appear as a boy for three years without informing them.

The Department is also partnering with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to take enforcement action against Pine-Richland School District in Pennsylvania for policies directing school staff, including nurses and psychologists, to facilitate “gender transitions” for students without parental consent in violation of FERPA and PPRA.

“The Trump Administration has made upholding parental rights and transparency in the classroom a key part of our education agenda – and we will continue to do so,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Policies designed to conceal or hide the most sensitive information about a child’s well-being not only violate federal law but also educators' moral obligation to let parents be the first decision-makers in their child’s lives. We will vigorously investigate these allegations and hold districts accountable to bring parents out of the dark.”

Background:

The Trump Administration continues to take unprecedented action to protect parental rights, hold schools accountable, and ensure parents are not kept in the dark about their children’s education and well-being.

According to reports, a district social worker at Albuquerque Public Schools was prevented from sharing “gender identity” information with parents. Procedural Directive PJ30 mandates that schools use a student’s chosen names and pronouns regardless of their biological sex. The policy also directs schools to separate a student’s preferred name and gender in “social interactions” at school and “informal records,” while referring to their legal name and biological sex in “permanent records” made available to parents.

In Santa Fe Public Schools, parents allege that the school district utilized “gender support plans” and other forms without their consent or knowledge. One form entitled “Name & Pronoun Info Sheet” directly asks students what name they want to be referred to in class and what pronouns the teacher should use. Most concerning, however, is the fact that the form explicitly states the teacher will keep this information confidential from parents and asks the students what pronoun they should be referred to when speaking to their parents.

A complaint filed against the Pennsbury School District alleges the school district secretly "socially transitioned” a female student to a boy. They allegedly used a male name and pronouns for the student, and maintained records, communications, awards, and even social media posts reflecting a male identity for nearly three years without the parents’ knowledge or consent. Pennsbury School District’s Board Policy 253.1 provides students the “right” to keep their gender status private while a separate policy mandates that parents must be involved when changing school records. However, the school district allegedly violated its own policy and even created a “separate, false identity” for the parents’ daughter while at school.

Pine-Richland School District is also accused of providing taxpayer-funded “gender transition teams” to students without parental consent or knowledge. The school district’s policy requires that schools use the students’ preferred pronouns, name, bathroom, and sports team all based on “gender identity” and not biological sex. One parent was allegedly denied by the school district any notification if her child requested gender transitioning resources.

FERPA and PPRA are federal privacy laws enforced by the Department's SPPO. PPRA requires schools to provide notification and attain written parental consent when conducting surveys, analyses, or evaluations asking students for certain sensitive and private information such as sex behaviors and attitudes, religious beliefs, mental and psychological problems.  

FERPA gives parents the right to access their children’s education records, the right to request record corrections or amendments, and the right to control (with important exceptions) the disclosure of personally identifiable information in education records. Treating screening results or other related documentation as “temporary records,” maintaining such records in separate repositories, or withholding information from parents all infringe on parents’ rights under FERPA. 

These statutory obligations were emphasized and clarified in the SPPO’s recent Dear Colleague Letters issued in March 2025 and August 2026.  

On October 5, 2026, the Department and the U.S. Department of Justice issued letters to all state Attorneys General pointing them to SPPO’s recent guidance and expressing concerns about their school districts’ lack of compliance with these federal laws regarding mental health screenings conducted in schools.  

Violations of FERPA and PPRA can lead to enforcement actions and potential loss of federal funding.

Source: U.S. Dept. of ED.