Feds Investigate California Schools Accused of Hiding Children’s Gender Transition From Parents

A new state law could violate federal law, officials say. A parental rights group says hundreds of U.S. districts are noncompliant.

Residents gather outside an Orange Unified School District board meeting, during which the board passed a policy to notify parents when their child wishes to identify as transgender, in Orange, Calif., on Sept. 7, 2023. Mei Lee/The Epoch Times

A California policy that prevents schools from requiring staff to disclose a child’s gender identity or sexual orientation to his or her parents may be in violation of a federal law, the U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday.

The federal agency’s Student Privacy Policy Office, which oversees the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA), is investigating instances in California where school personnel in various districts allegedly hid information from parents and assisted students with their gender “transition,” a March 27 news release notes.