On October 5, 2026, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice launched an enforcement action against the Los Angeles Unified School District over policies that conceal students' gender identities from parents. Federal officials also sent a joint letter warning state attorneys general to enforce parental rights under FERPA and PPRA. Concurrently, a new Department of Justice report revealed that federal officials previously resisted a 2021 plan to investigate protesting parents as domestic terrorists.
Federal partnership to enforce parental rights
- ▪The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice sent a joint letter to all state attorneys general on October 5, 2026, warning that schools must comply with federal parental rights laws.
- ▪U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon urged state attorneys general to partner with federal agencies to hold non-compliant schools accountable.
- ▪The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice established a partnership in June 2026 to coordinate the enforcement of parental and civil rights laws.
Federal laws protecting parental rights
- ▪Federal officials stated that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment protect parents' rights to access their children's education records.
- ▪Under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, schools conducting covered mental-health screenings or evaluations must obtain prior written parental consent rather than offering opt-outs.
Federal action against Los Angeles Unified School District
- ▪The federal enforcement action by ED and DOJ against the Los Angeles Unified School District targets policies requiring school employees to conceal sensitive student information, including gender identity, from parents
- ▪Los Angeles Unified School District policies direct employees to privately ask students how they want to be referred to and keep student gender identity confidential from parents.
- ▪The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice launched an enforcement action against the Los Angeles Unified School District on October 5, 2026.
- ▪The federal enforcement action by ED and DOJ against the Los Angeles Unified School District over parental disclosure policies could result in the termination of the school district's federal funding
Sonja Shaw's reaction
- ▪Chino Valley Unified School District board president Sonja Shaw stated that the federal enforcement action by ED and DOJ against the Los Angeles Unified School District validates the fight for parental rights
- ▪Sonja Shaw warned that California should look to the federal action against the Los Angeles Unified School District as a warning of what happens when parents are pushed out.
Investigation of protesting parents in 2021
- ▪A Department of Justice Weaponization Working Group report released on October 5, 2026, revealed that federal law enforcement officials pushed back against a 2021 plan to investigate parents protesting at school board meetings as domestic terrorists
- ▪Public Integrity Section Chief Corey Amundson and other federal officials warned in 2021 that investigating parents protesting at school board meetings as domestic terrorists would be viewed as a partisan exercise
- ▪The National School Boards Association sent a letter to President Joe Biden on September 29, 2021, requesting that threats against school officials be treated as domestic terrorism.
- ▪Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memorandum on October 4, 2021, directing the FBI to address threats against school officials, leading to 25 individuals being flagged for investigation.
Debatable claims
- ▪The federal government should strip funding from LAUSD over its student gender privacy policies
- ▪Opt-out policies are sufficient to protect parental rights during school mental-health screenings
- ▪LAUSD is justified in keeping students' gender identity confidential from their parents
- ▪Federal enforcement of parental rights in local school districts is a legitimate use of authority
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