Anne Arundel County Schools updates gender identity policy after DOJ cites FERPA concerns

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. (WBFF) — Anne Arundel County Public Schools has updated its gender identity policy after the school district received a letter last month from the U.S. Department of Justice, accusing AACPS of violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

The U.S. Department of Education teamed up with the DOJ to take action against AACPS as well as Ann Arbor Public Schools in Michigan.

ALSO READ | Education Department, DOJ target schools over gender identity policies

Officials accused AACPS of improperly classifying a student’s “gender identity” as “confidential medical information” that couldn’t be shared with parents.

The Education Department’s Student Privacy Policy Office said it received complaints from Anne Arundel County parents who found the school was secretly helping their daughter pretend to be male at school after the parents received an email that referred to their daughter by male pronouns. The department said when the parents approached school administrators, the principal declined to provide details about the student’s “gender transition,” and the assistant principal refused to turn over the child’s relevant records. The department said those policies and practices unlawfully impeded the parents’ ability to exercise their FERPA rights.

On August 19, AACPS Superintendent Mark T. Bedell said in a letter to families and employees that the district amended its gender identity policy “Administrative Regulation JQ-RA, Safe and Inclusive Environments for LGBTQ+ Students” to clarify that the policy shall not be interpreted to limit or interfere with parents’ rights under FERPA. That includes the right to inspect and review their child’s complete education record.

The language now reads:

The Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of parents/guardians and students by generally prohibiting schools that receive federal education funding from disclosing personally identifiable information from a student’s education records without the parent’s/guardian’s consent, except in limited circumstances.”

Nothing in this regulation shall be construed to limit or otherwise interfere with parents’/guardians’ rights under FERPA, including the right to inspect and review their student’s complete education record. Under FERPA, education records generally include all records, files, documents, and other materials maintained by AACPS that contain information directly related to a student. Board of Education of Anne Arundel County Policy JH and Administrative Regulation JH-RA – Student Records – govern student records at AACPS.”

Bedell continued in his letter, saying the amendments make clear no policy, guideline or practice may “limit or otherwise interfere with parental rights under FERPA.” That includes information in education records regarding gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, preferred name or preferred pronouns.

Read the amended policy in full above