DOE requires California and Washington to disclose plans to review policies that hide kids' 'gender transitions' from parents

On Thursday, the Department of Education asked education authorities in California and Washington for updated information on state policies that, according to the Trump administration, pressure schools to hide their children's so-called "gender transitions" from parents.

The information was reported by Breitbart News.

The Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) requested that the California Department of Education (CDE) and the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to explain how they will amend their policies after both the Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this year against California's confidentiality measures and in favor of parents' rights.

According to the Department of Education, both states maintain policies and guidelines, and have even sued some of their own school districts, to "pressure schools and educators to withhold student records from parents"—actions that led last year to the agency's first investigations into alleged violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated in remarks to Breitbart News that "We have seen an alarming surge of educational institutions circumventing parents' authority over their own children. Reports of schools secretly 'transitioning' students without parental knowledge or consent and ignoring parents' right to opt their child out of inappropriate, explicit materials are shocking, disturbing, and likely illegal."

McMahon added: "Children do not belong to the government – they belong to parents. The Trump Administration is working harder than ever to defend parents' authority as the primary decision-makers in their children's lives, proving once again that this is the most pro-parent administration in history."

In March, the Supreme Court held that "under long-established precedent, parents – not the State – have primary authority with respect to the upbringing and education of children." The highest court also noted that state policies requiring educators to withhold information about students' "gender transitions" likely violate parents' constitutional rights.

Subsequently, in June, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals relied on that precedent in ruling in favor of the city of Huntington Beach, Calif., in its dispute with the state of California, concluding that such policies likely violate parents' constitutional rights.

Following these court decisions, the SPPO asked California and Washington to immediately outline their plans to revise their policies. The agency indicated that the responses will help determine the next steps in the investigation into Washington and subsequent actions, following the Department's conclusion earlier this year that California had violated FERPA.