Trump administration puts states on notice: Parents’ rights are ‘non-negotiable’

The agencies sent a joint letter to state attorneys general, warning that federal protections governing parents’ access to education records and sensitive information about their children are non-negotiable.

“Under the Biden Administration, parents were the enemy. They were labeled as terrorists, targeted, and investigated by a government weaponized against them,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said. “That era is over. The Trump Administration is acting with unprecedented energy and purpose to restore parents’ natural rights as the primary protectors of their children.”

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon said the agencies would work together to protect parents’ rights. “Parents are children’s natural providers and protectors,” Dhillon said. “The Biden-Harris DOJ labeled concerned parents as threats for exercising their right to know what was happening at their kids’ schools. This Civil Rights Division stands with parents, and we will continue to partner with the Department of Education to enforce parents’ rights under federal law.”

The announcement coincided with DOJ’s release of findings from its Weaponization Working Group examining former Attorney General Merrick Garland’s October 4, 2021 memorandum directing federal coordination on threats against school personnel. According to the DOJ, Biden White House officials and Justice Department leadership pushed for federal involvement despite objections from attorneys and FBI personnel. The department said the FBI opened 25 assessments involving parents and concluded that the initiative chilled parental participation and protected speech.

The controversy began after the National School Boards Association sent President Joe Biden a September 2021 letter suggesting certain incidents involving school officials could constitute domestic terrorism and requesting federal assistance. This was after parents showed up to school board meetings and questioned DEI and hyper-sexualized material in the classroom.

After the backlash, the association apologized for the letter, but Garland stood by his memorandum.

In May 2022, Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Mike Johnson cited whistleblower disclosures alleging that the FBI had applied a threat tag created by its Counterterrorism Division to investigations involving parents protesting school policies. The lawmakers challenged Garland’s testimony about the use of counterterrorism tools against parents.

Monday’s joint letter emphasized the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). FERPA protects parents’ access to their children’s education records, while PPRA provides protections concerning surveys and evaluations involving sensitive subjects.

The agencies also warned that schools administering mental health screenings must obtain prior written parental consent as required by federal law. They said allowing parents to opt out does not satisfy that requirement and urged attorneys general to help ensure compliance.

As part of the enforcement push, the agencies announced action against the Los Angeles Unified School District over policies they say conceal students’ self-professed gender identities from parents in violation of FERPA and PPRA.

According to the announcement, district employees are instructed to ask students how they want to be addressed when communicating with parents and to keep gender identity information confidential, including from their families.

DOJ separately announced that parents subjected to FBI assessments under the Garland initiative would be offered access to those records. The department pledged to review whether their constitutional rights were violated and issue formal apologies where violations are found.