Federal directive: KY parents can review school documents related to students’ gender identity

A new directive from the U.S. Department of Education would force schools in Kentucky and across the country to give parents access to all education records of their student, including any document related to a child’s gender identity.

Institutions that fail to comply may face investigation and loss of federal funding, a Friday announcement from the agency said.

Officials from the Kentucky Department of Education did not immediately comment Monday.

Chris Hartman, executive director of the Louisville-based Fairness Campaign told the Herald-Leader Monday the new order was cruel and discriminatory.

“The Trump administration’s main goal, it seems, is to stay in federal court for the entirety of his second term,” said Hartman, making reference to recent court challenges to President Donald Trumps’ administrations directives and executive orders.

“This attempt to endanger transgender kids across our country is cruel, and it won’t withstand the forthcoming legal challenges. I hope to see many Kentucky schools resist and defy the administration’s discriminatory actions.”

In the Friday news release, U.S. Department of Education officials said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is notifying superintendents and state education commissioners that they have an obligation to comply under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).

FERPA and PPRA are federal privacy laws. FERPA gives parents the right to access their children’s education records, the right to request record corrections or amendments, and the right to control disclosure of personally identifiable information in education records.

PPRA gives parents notice and opt-out rights when a school administers surveys or questionnaires asking students for certain sensitive, private information about students and their families.

“Parents are the most natural protectors of their children. Yet many states and school districts have enacted policies that imply students need protection from their parents,” McMahon said in the news release.

“These states and school districts have turned the concept of privacy on its head, prioritizing the privileges of government officials over the rights of parents and well-being of families. Going forward, the correct application of FERPA will be to empower all parents to protect their children from the radical ideologies that have taken over many schools.”

The directive “comes amid rampant reports that state educational agencies and their respective local educational agencies have policies and practices which violate parental privacy laws by hiding critical information, such as a child’s ‘gender transition,’ from parents about their child’s mental and physical well-being and safety,” the news release said.

“As any mother would be, I have been appalled to learn how schools are routinely hiding information about the mental and physical health of their students from parents,” McMahon said in a letter to educators attached to the news release. “The practice of encouraging children down a path with irreversible repercussions—and hiding it from parents—must end. Attempts by school officials to separate children from their parents, convince children to feel unsafe at home, or burden children with the weight of keeping secrets from their loved ones is a direct affront to the family unit.When such conduct violates the law the Department will take swift action.”

The Department’s priorities include ensuring parental rights to inspect and review education records. It appears that schools often create “Gender Plans” for students and assert that these plans are not “education records” under FERPA, and therefore inaccessible to the parent, the U.S. Department of Education’s news release said.

All information, with certain statutory exceptions, that is directly related to a student would be considered part of the student’s “education records” to which parents have a right to inspect and review.

A school must provide regular notice to inform parents of their rights.

No later than April 30, state and local education officials have to provide documentation that they are complying with the laws.

“The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) of 1978 are key laws that protect student and family rights in education,” said Dia Davidson-Smith, Fayette County Public Schools district spokesperson “These laws help build strong school-family partnerships and led to the creation of tools like Infinite Campus, which gives students and families quick access to educational records.”

“Each year, FCPS shares information about these laws—and a FERPA opt-out form—with families through the Student Code of Conduct. FCPS remains committed to following these important laws,” Davidson-Smith said.

This story was originally published March 31, 2025 at 2:29 PM.