Trump Administration Is Investigating CA Privacy Protections for Trans Students

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into California’s Department of Education over Assembly Bill 1955, a law passed last year that limits the forced outing of transgender students to their parents. The bill, already the subject of multiple legal challenges, has become a lightning rod for anti-trans activists who claim it infringes on parental rights. The Department now echoes that line, suggesting the law may violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) — a familiar argument among right-wing opponents of student privacy protections. What they leave out: a judge has already ruled that parents still retain access to educational records, including those that reflect pronoun or name changes.

“There is no forced secrecy in this case; parents are still free to have conversations with their child about gender identity; and parents have the right to observe a classroom, talk to a teacher, and review educational records,” San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Michael Sachs wrote in a ruling on an earlier challenge to the law. This dynamic is not unique to California — schools across the country continue to allow parents access to their child’s school records. In a similar case in New Jersey, courts found that gender presentation changes don’t automatically trigger changes to a student’s official records and emphasized that the laws simply protect a student’s right to disclose their identity on their own terms. In both cases, courts reviewed FERPA-based arguments and found the legal footing of anti-trans challengers to be unpersuasive.

Up to 40% of homeless youth in the United States identify as LGBTQ+, and 28% of LGBTQ+ youth report experiencing homelessness at some point in their lives — most often after being kicked out by unsupportive family members. Outed youth also face a heightened risk of being subjected to conversion therapy, a discredited and harmful practice still legal in several states. AB 1955 allows students to use names, pronouns, and gender presentation that reflect their identity at school without the fear that educators will preemptively out them to their families.

“The agency launched today’s investigation to vigorously protect parents’ rights and ensure that students do not fall victim to a radical transgender ideology that often leads to family alienation and irreversible medical interventions,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in a statement.

On Friday, McMahon sent a letter to education officials nationwide reaffirming the Department of Education Student Privacy Policy Office’s (SPPO) opposition to legislation like AB 1955, doubling down on the administration’s broader resistance to transgender rights. The letter reiterates claims from the department’s original announcement of its investigation—echoing the repeatedly debunked narrative advanced by the Trump administration that schools are encouraging vulnerable youth to transition without consent. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also weighed in, issuing a separate letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom, who signed AB 1955 into law, signaling its support for the investigation.

This move is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to curtail transgender rights across multiple arenas, including bans on transgender military service, sweeping restrictions on gender-affirming care, and policies barring transgender people from public accommodations like restrooms. It reflects a coordinated effort to mainstream anti-trans positions within both Republican and even some Democratic circles — an effort that emboldens anti-trans advocates who view the current administration as a vehicle to undermine transgender rights at a foundational level.

All of this comes despite growing public opposition to the administration’s attacks on transgender people. Across party lines, Americans broadly oppose the erasure of LGBTQ+ people from federal documents, and among those who personally know a transgender person, opposition to these policies is even stronger. A majority of U.S. adults also oppose banning transgender people from military service. Internationally, countries including Canada, France, Germany, Denmark, and even the United Kingdom have issued travel advisories warning LGBTQ+ people about the risks of visiting the United States under Trump’s leadership.

The investigation was launched in the wake of surprising anti-trans statements from Governor Newsom, who declared he “completely aligns” with far-right anti-trans advocate Charlie Kirk on some anti-trans positions such as sports, offering sympathy toward Kirk’s rhetoric and sparking concern among transgender rights advocates. Many now fear this signals an impending rollback of trans protections in California — a sharp turn for a governor once viewed as a reliable ally. Still, Newsom’s office insists the state’s stance hasn’t changed. “Parents continue to have full, guaranteed access to their student’s education records as required by federal law,” said Elana Ross, a spokesperson for the governor, in a statement to Politico. “If the U.S. Department of Education still had staff, this would be a quick investigation — all they would need to do is read the law the Governor signed.”

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond also outlined that the California Department of Education will remain committed to protecting this bill and transgender students. “Our students must be safe in order to learn,” he said in a statement. “I have heard from so many students and families whose safety has been impacted by forced outing policies. To our LGBTQ+ youth and families, I want to make sure that you hear us as loudly as we hear you: You are heard, you are protected, and you are loved.”

This piece was republished with permission from Erin In The Morning.