Lawsuit is second DOJ filing after Kansas City, Kansas case
Anne Arundel County Public Schools disputed the allegations in the lawsuit the Justice Department filed Tuesday, saying it stands by its compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment. Bob Mosier, a chief communications officer with the district, told UPI in an emailed statement that the school system “has been in regular contact with the Department of Justice in a good-faith effort to resolve their concerns while adhering to our obligations to all students, parents and staff.”
Mosier also said: “It’s regrettable that the department chose to pursue litigation rather than continuing constructive dialogue.”
The eight-count complaint, filed Tuesday in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, alleges that the district violated the two federal laws by using a student’s preferred name and pronouns without parental consent and by denying parents access to related records. The lawsuit largely centers on a student identified in the complaint as Mary Doe, who asked school staff to refer to the student by a male name that the document does not disclose.
Federal lawyers allege that the district 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 that the district denied Mary’s parents access to internal staff communications and other documents concerning the child’s preferred name and pronouns, and denied them an opportunity to challenge such records. The complaint acknowledges that Mary’s official school records continued to reflect her legal name and birth gender.
The district is also accused of violating PPRA after a staff member individually asked each student, including Mary Doe, for preferred names and held one-on-one discussions about preferred pronouns without parental involvement. Federal lawyers allege that the lines of questioning involved legally protected sensitive information and required prior written parental consent or, at a minimum, advance parental notification and an opportunity to opt out, which they say the district did not provide Mary’s parents.
The remaining three counts concern broader district policies, including allegedly disclosing personally identifiable student gender information to Maryland education authorities without parental consent, failing to provide parents with opportunities to challenge gender-related education records and restricting parental access to education records.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement: “Schools should not discuss preferred pronouns or ‘gender identity’ with a student without parental notification and consent.” Dhillon also 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.”
The lawsuit comes amid broader federal action on transgender rights. President Donald Trump campaigned on restricting the rights of transgender Americans, and since returning to the White House, his administration has ordered federal agencies to recognize only two biological sexes and replace the term “gender” with “sex,” and has restricted access to gender-affirming care, especially for minors.
The federal government has opened more than 10 investigations into state education agencies and county school districts concerning transgender-student policies, citing federal laws, including FERPA or PPRA. The Anne Arundel County lawsuit is the second such case filed by the Justice Department, following its first lawsuit against Kansas City and Kansas Public Schools on Sept. 1.
The Department of Education announced enforcement actions against Anne Arundel County Public Schools in late July after receiving complaints from parents who “discovered that the school was secretly helping their daughter pretend to be a male at school.”
The lawsuit asks a federal court to apply FERPA and PPRA to a district’s handling of preferred names, pronouns and education records. Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ position is that its practices complied with both laws and satisfied its obligations to students, parents and staff.