The administration of President Donald Trump is investigating Maine with a claim that dozens of school districts in the state violate federal law by withholding information about students' gender transitioning from parents.
The U.S. Department of Education said it launched the investigation on Friday, the day after it began a similar investigation into the California Department of Education. In both cases, the federal education department said the states might be violating the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act.
The federal department said in a letter to the Maine Department of Education that it is investigating to determine if the agency "played a role, either directly or indirectly" in districts' adoption of policies that withhold student records from parents.
It's the latest round in an ongoing dispute between Maine and the Trump administration about the role of transgender students in school and in high school sports. A spokesperson for the Maine Department of Education declined to comment on Friday.
The federal Education Department said in a statement it has heard reports that some Maine districts have policies that allow schools to "create 'gender plans' supporting a student's 'transgender identity'" and then claim those plans are not education records and not accessible to parents.
"Parents and guardians have the right to access their child's education records to guide and safeguard their child's mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Any policy to the contrary is both illegal and immoral," said U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who heads a department Trump hopes to dismantle.
The Trump administration began investigating Maine's handling of the issue of transgender students in school after a public dispute between Trump and Democrat Gov. Janet Mills in February. During a meeting of governors at the White House, Trump threatened to pull funding from Maine if the state doesn't comply with his executive order barring transgender athletes from sports.
Mills, who was in attendance, responded: "We'll see you in court." The federal government then began investigating Maine's compliance with the Title IX antidiscrimination law.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said earlier this month that the Maine Department of Education as well as the Maine Principals' Association and a Portland-area high school are in violation of Title IX. A spokesperson for the federal department said Friday it is has referred Maine's noncompliance to the U.S. Department of Justice for enforcement in court.
The principals' association and high school said this week they won't comply with a proposed agreement to bar transgender athletes from girls' sports. The Maine education department declined to comment on the proposal on Thursday.
The U.S. Education Department said Friday it also sent broader guidance to chief state school officers and superintendents at institutions that receive federal funding about their obligation to comply with the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act.
The agency said in a statement that compliance means "schools must allow parents to review all education records of their student, including any document related to a student's 'gender identity.'"
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