Rights & Freedoms · Report · File No. 261028-988
Justice Department sues Maryland school district over students' gender identity records
The Justice Department says Anne Arundel County schools illegally keep a student's gender identity from parents. The district says its policy follows the law, and the case is the latest federal push to set school policy.
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The Justice Department sued the Anne Arundel County, Maryland, school board on Tuesday. It claims the district's policies illegally withhold gender-related information about students from their parents 1. The suit was filed in federal court in Maryland 1.
The government says district policies direct staff to collect and record gender-related information from students without parents' knowledge or consent 1. It also says the policies let staff limit parents' involvement based only on a claim of a "safety concern," with no way for parents to challenge that claim 1.
What the government alleges
The complaint points to one case. It says the government applied its policies to a female student, and the complaint refers to her parents as "Mary's parents" 1.
When her parents asked for her education records, the complaint says, staff told them some records required an appointment and others a subpoena 1. The government says that violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law that lets parents see their children's school records 1.
It also accuses the district of violating the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment. That law says students cannot be required to take part in surveys or evaluations that reveal sensitive information without prior parental consent 1.
The government wants the court to order the district to end the policies. It also wants parents to have a chance to correct or delete data in their children's records that is "inaccurate, misleading or otherwise inappropriate" 1.
The district's response
School board president Gloria Dent said Tuesday night that she could not speak at length yet. She said the board would discuss the lawsuit at a meeting Wednesday morning 1.
Our policy is in compliance with both FERPA and PPRA.
The district had already changed course. On Aug. 19, local station WBFF reported that Anne Arundel schools amended a regulation on LGBTQ+ students. The change says the rule should not be read to limit parents' FERPA rights, including the right to inspect a child's complete education record 2. Superintendent Mark T. Bedell wrote that this covers information about gender identity and preferred name or pronouns 2. That came after a Justice Department letter accusing the district of FERPA violations 2.
A pattern of federal pressure
This is not the first such suit. The Justice Department sued the Kansas City, Kansas, school district over similar guidance, according to The 74, an education news site 3. In that case, the report said, the Justice Department had not claimed the district actually blocked any parent from seeing records 3.
Legal advocates dispute the government's reading of the law. Brian Dittmeier of the National Women's Law Center said the Justice Department "is overstating the reach of the law in an attempt to force their preferred policy result" 3.
FERPA does not require proactive parental notification as records are created.
That matters because the dispute is about who decides how schools handle these questions: local boards and families, or Washington. The courts have not ruled here, and everything above is the government's allegation. The district denies it.
What happens next is a district response in court. The Maryland case could also show whether the Kansas City suit becomes the model for more federal action against school districts 3.
The Record
- Anne Arundel schools amended a regulation to say it cannot limit parents' FERPA rights, after a Justice Department letter 2.
- The 74 reported the Justice Department had sued the Kansas City, Kansas, school district over similar guidance 3.
- The Justice Department sued the Anne Arundel County school board in federal court in Maryland 1.
Sources
- Courthouse News, “Justice Department targets Maryland school district in new parental rights lawsuit” (2026-10-28). courthousenews.com/justice-department-targets-maryland-schoo
- FOX45 Baltimore (WBFF), “Anne Arundel County Schools updates gender identity policy after DOJ cites FERPA concerns” (2026-08-19). foxbaltimore.com/news/local/anne-arundel-county-public-schoo
- The 74, “Justice Dept. lawsuit over parent rights and gender identity could be test case” (2026-09-09). the74million.org/article/justice-dept-lawsuit-over-parent-ri
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