Oct. 27 (UPI) — The Justice Department is suing a Maryland school district, accusing it of violating federal laws governing parental rights by enforcing policies that permit staff to use students’ preferred pronouns and names without their parents’ knowledge, amid the Trump administration’s broader efforts to restrict transgender rights. The eight-count lawsuit filed Tuesday in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland specifically accuses Anne Arundel County Public Schools of violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.
The lawsuit largely centers on a single student, identified in the complaint as Mary Doe, who asked school staff to refer to them by a male name that the document does not disclose. Federal lawyers allege that the school violated FERPA by disclosing Mary Doe’s preferred name without her parents’ consent in a field-trip roster emailed to other parents in May 2026. They also allege the district violated FERPA when it denied Mary’s parents access to internal staff communications and other documents concerning their child’s preferred name and pronouns, and denied them an opportunity to challenge such records. The federal lawyers, however, acknowledge in the complaint that Mary’s official school records continued to reflect her legal name and birth gender. The school district is also accused of violating PPRA after a staff member individually asked each student, including Mary, for their preferred names and held one-on-one discussions about preferred pronouns without parental involvement. The federal lawyers also allege that these lines of questioning involving legally protected sensitive information require prior written parental consent or, at a minimum, advance parental notification and an opportunity to opt out, which they say the school district did not provide Mary’s parents.
