U.S. government sues Anne Arundel school board over gender identity policy

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division on Tuesday sued Anne Arundel County’s Board of Education, claiming the district secretly allowed students to change their genders without their parents’ knowledge or consent.

The government is seeking an injunction that would stop the board from enforcing its gender identity policy and provide parents an opportunity to challenge and correct any errors in their children’s educational records.

“These policies require staff to facilitate a student’s social transition at school, to memorialize that transition in education records, and to obscure or withhold this information from parents,” according to the complaint, which was filed Tuesday, one week before Election Day.

Over the summer, the years-old policy became the focus of intense scrutiny after the Trump administration, conservative legal activists and some parents challenged the school system’s approach to gender identity. The district previously did not require parental permission to use a high school student’s chosen name and pronouns, an internal document shows.

The district responded to the criticism at the start of the school year.

It revised the policy to make clear it does not block parents’ rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and that a student’s gender identity will not be treated as confidential medical information. The district also notified staff that they can no longer use transgender students’ preferred names if their parents oppose it.

“No policy, guideline, or practice may limit or otherwise interfere with parental rights under FERPA,” Superintendent Mark Bedell wrote in an August letter to the community. “This includes any information maintained in education records that relates to gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, preferred name, or preferred pronouns.”

District spokesperson Bob Mosier previously told The Banner that Anne Arundel was among Maryland’s first school systems to develop a framework to support LGBTQIA+ students and works closely with their parents.

“We have steadfastly supported all of our students and take seriously our obligations to follow privacy laws,” Mosier wrote in an email last month. “Our work has evolved as the issue has evolved, and that will continue to be the case.”

Mosier did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.

The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday criticized the district for allegedly restricting or excluding parental involvement in discussions about a student’s gender when staff believe sharing the information presents a “safety concern.” This enables employees to conceal information while acting on it within the school environment, the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit also describes the impact the policy had on one Anne Arundel family. Teachers and staff allegedly called student Mary Doe a name that didn’t match her legal name or sex, and withheld that change from her parents. “When Mary’s parents tried to exercise their rights to their daughter’s education records, AACPS staff told them some records required an appointment and others a subpoena,” according to the complaint.