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5 October 2026 · U.S. Department of Justice

Feds take enforcement action against LA schools for hiding kids' gender identities from parents

The Education and Justice Departments say LAUSD broke federal parental-rights law by telling staff to keep a child's 'gender identity' secret from Mom and Dad — and warned every state attorney general that schools can't run mental-health screenings without written parental consent.

Official source

On October 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice announced an enforcement action against the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest district in the country.

The reason: LAUSD policies tell staff to "privately ask the student how they want to be referred to when communicating with parents/legal guardians" and to keep a student's self-professed "gender identity" "private" or "confidential," including from parents. The departments say those policies violate two federal laws, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).

In the departments' words, LAUSD's "parental secrecy policies have allowed students to make life-altering decisions in secret, unbeknownst to their parents."

That is exactly what school social transition is. A school changes a child's name and pronouns, and the parents are the last to know. Social transition is not neutral. It is the first step down a path that too often ends in puberty blockers, opposite-sex hormones, and surgery. Parents have a right to know, and now the federal government is saying so with enforcement, not just words.

The same day, Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon sent a joint letter to every state attorney general. It says the conditions of federal funding under FERPA and PPRA are "nonnegotiable," and it singles out school "mental health screenings": a school must first notify parents and get their written consent. "Opt-outs are not sufficient," the letter says.

"Parents are children's natural providers and protectors," Dhillon said.

"The Department of Education is committed to fully enforcing FERPA and PPRA," McMahon said. "We are grateful to the Department of Justice for partnering with us to hold rogue schools accountable, including the Los Angeles Unified School District."

This is an enforcement action, not a final finding. But the message to every school district hiding things from parents is clear: stop.

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