Trump Admin. Launches Investigation into CA Dept. of Education for Parental Rights Violations

The Trump Administration Department of Education announced Thursday they are investigating the California Department of Education over the odious new law that prohibits school districts from notifying parents if their kids are “gender” transitioning while at school.

The U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into California’s Department of Education for alleged FERPA violations – the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act.

The offending California law is Assembly Bill 1955 by Assemblyman Chris Ward (D-San Diego), which prohibits schools from notifying parents if their child is “gender confused” and transitioning to the other sex while at school.

But here is the even more odious title Assemblyman Ward gave his bill: the “Support Academic Futures and Equality for Today’s Youth (SAFETY) Act.”

The left claims that notifying parents of such a monumental event is a “forced outing” the child, rather than what’s obvious to most – if the child is already “out” at school, then this is not an actual “outing” and parents need to be notified.

Without parental notification and involvement, the opportunity for predatory abuse of the child is wide open.

Here is how the Los Angeles Times reported this:

“Trump targets California ban on ‘forced outing’ of students’ gender identity to parents.”

“Federal officials have launched an investigation of the California Department of Education for withholding from parents information about changes to their child’s gender identity, setting up a showdown between the state and President Trump, with billions of dollars in federal funding potentially at stake.

The investigation, announced Thursday morning by the U.S. Department of Education, takes aim at a California law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in July, which prohibits schools from automatically notifying families about student gender-identity changes and shields teachers from retaliation for supporting transgender student rights. Federal officials contend the California law illegally violates the right of parents to receive school records related to their children.”

So now it’s “Federal officials contend the California law illegally violates the right of parents to receive school records related to their children.” It’s pretty obvious that California law does violate parental rights. And schools are a mandated reporter, which has conveniently gotten lost in the bedlam.

Here is what the U.S. Department of Education’s announcement actually said:

“U.S. Department of Education Launches Investigation into California Department of Education for Alleged FERPA Violations.”

“The U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) launched an investigation into the California Department of Education (CDE) for alleged violations of the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA). FERPA gives parents the right to access their children’s educational data. The California Department of Education has allegedly abdicated the responsibilities FERPA imposes due to a new California state law that prohibits school personnel from disclosing a child’s ‘gender identity’ to that child’s parent.

SPPO has reason to believe that numerous local educational agencies (LEAs) in California may be violating FERPA to socially transition children at school while hiding minors’ “gender identity” from parents. Given the number of LEAs that appear to be involved, SPPO is concerned that CDE played a role, either directly or indirectly, in the widespread adoption of these practices, which appear to be required by the recently enacted California Assembly Bill 1955.”

AB 1955 Assembly Floor Analysis says:

“Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to develop resources and strategies to support Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning (LGBTQ+) students and their families; prohibits an employee or contractor from being required to disclose any information related to a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person without the student’s consent; prohibits public schools from enacting or enforcing any policy requiring an employee or contractor to disclose any information related to a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, without the student’s consent; and requires that any such policy be invalid.

Laws across the country state that a parent must meet a child’s basic needs and parent in a way that serves the child’s best interests. Parents also have a financial duty to raise and support their children, as well as their children’s basic needs of food, clothing, housing, medical care, and education. This usually continues until each child reaches the age of 18.

Hearing the bill created havoc in the Assembly in June. During floor debate, Assemblyman Bill Essayli (R-Riverside) spoke about how morally and legally wrong it is to cut parents out of the discussions over a gender confused child. He also brought up his bill from last year which would have addressed this, but Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Jim Wood interrupted him, and when Essayli challenged the interruption, and noted that he is always interrupted by Speaker Wood when he speaks on the Assembly Floor, Wood cut his mic off.

Essayli said the Democrat leadership was like “the Chinese Communist Party.”

Democrats knew that this bill is not just morally wrong, they knew it is legally wrong as well, and that it violates existing laws. But Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law the following month.

“The California law violates two key principles of good education policy,” said Lance Izumi, Senior Director of the Center for Education at the Pacific Research Institute. “First, parents have the primary and ultimate say in how their children are educated and the California law blocks this right of parents. Second, for parents to exercise optimal control and decision-making over their children’s education, government must be transparent about what is going on at public schools so parents can be fully informed in order to make the best decisions possible regarding the learning and well-being of their children. The Trump administration is rightly seeking to vindicate the fundamental rights of parents and to ensure that children’s education, not adult ideology, is the goal of our public schools.”

“Teachers and school counselors should not be in the business of advising minors entrusted to their care on consequential decisions about their sexual identity and mental health. That responsibility and privilege lies with a parent or trusted loved one,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “It is not only immoral but also potentially in contradiction with federal law for California schools to hide crucial information about a student’s wellbeing from parents and guardians. 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.”

The Globe will closely follow this investigation.