McMahon warns schools of increased enforcement on parents' rights

Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent a “Dear Colleague” letter on Friday to schools warning of increased enforcement of parental rights.  

The letter comes following investigations conducted by the Department of Education against California and Maine over policies the federal agency alleges keep records of a student’s gender identity away from their parents, allegedly violating the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA). 

FERPA gives parents a legal right to have access to all their children’s educational records.  

“Parents are the most natural protectors of their children. Yet many states and school districts have enacted policies that imply students need protection from their parents,” said McMahon.  

“These states and school districts have turned the concept of privacy on its head—prioritizing the privileges of government officials over the rights of parents and wellbeing of families. Going forward, the correct application of FERPA will be to empower all parents to protect their children from the radical ideologies that have taken over many schools,” she added.  

The “Dear Colleague” letter from the Student Privacy Policy Office also identifies “priority concerns” for which the office is considering “proactive measures” to address.  

The concerns include schools that allegedly have policies that do not allow parents to see if the district comes up with a “gender plan” to support a transgender student and districts that are allegedly not annually notifying parents of their rights under FERPA. 

The “Dear Colleague” letter and investigations into Maine and California over FERPA come as the Trump administration has implemented policies affecting transgender students and athletes.  

The president signed an executive order barring transgender athletes from competing on the sports team they choose. Funding has also been paused to the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Maine over alleged violations of that order. 

Both schools have said they are following NCAA rules, which were changed to bar transgender athletes after Trump's order.  

The investigations came after Republican backlash to UPenn over a swimming controversy with a transgender student back in 2022. The University of Maine investigation began after a spat between Trump and Maine’s governor over his order.