The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued a public school district in Maryland on Oct. 27, alleging that it secretly facilitated social gender transitions for students in violation of federal laws.
In a 31-page lawsuit, the DOJ alleged that Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ gender-related policies require staff to solicit and document students’ preferred pronouns and names without notifying parents.
The lawsuit said staff excluded parents from involvement based on unilateral assessments that disclosure would pose a “safety concern” to students.
The department also alleged that the school district had denied parents’ access to information they are entitled to receive about their children under federal laws. The school system covers 128 schools and serves more than 84,000 students, according to its website.
The lawsuit cited a student, identified as Mary Doe, who wanted to be addressed by a male name at school. It alleged that school staff disclosed the name to other parents but withheld it from her parents. When her parents sought access to their daughter’s education records, they were told that some records required an appointment and others a subpoena.
The DOJ alleged that Anne Arundel County Public Schools violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which grants parents access to their children’s education records and prevents unauthorized disclosure of identifying information.
The department also accused the school district of violating the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, which requires written parental consent or advance parental notification before students are asked to submit to any survey or evaluation revealing sensitive information, according to the lawsuit.
Harmeet Dhillon, the DOJ’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in a statement on Oct. 27 that the department is committed to ending “illegal school policies” that withhold students’ information from parents.
“Schools should not discuss preferred pronouns or ‘gender identity’ with a student without parental notification and consent,” Dhillon said.
“Parents should not be lied to, stonewalled, or branded as ‘safety concerns’ when they ask to see the education records that reveal what schools are secretly doing to their children.”
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington on Sept. 29, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
In August, Superintendent Mark Bedell said the school district amended its gender-related policies after receiving a DOJ letter about compliance with federal law.
Bedell said in an Aug. 19 letter to employees that the revised policies clarify that parents have the right to inspect and review their children’s complete education record.
The DOJ filed a lawsuit against Kansas City Kansas Public Schools last month, alleging that it violated parental-rights laws by allowing students to undergo social gender transitions at school without their parents’ knowledge. The Kansas school district has rejected the allegations.
The department said the Kansas school district created and retained written gender-transition plans while allowing students to request—and district officials to approve—the exclusion of their parents from planning meetings.
Tom Gantert and Reuters contributed to this report.
