Mother defends Anne Arundel schools' gender identity policies amid federal lawsuit

A mother in Anne Arundel County says the school district's policies for transgender students helped her family navigate her child's exploration of their gender identity.

Now, the U.S. Department of Justice is suing Anne Arundel County Public Schools, alleging the district violated parents' rights by allowing students to use different names or pronouns at school without their parents' knowledge.

Mother says school policies helped her family

Winnie Bruce said the policies can be important for LGBTQ+ students who may be afraid to discuss their gender identity with their families.

"Some kids are scared to open up to their families," Bruce said.

Bruce said her child was exploring their gender identity while attending Anne Arundel County Public Schools and eventually asked the school to notify her about a name change.

"My child gave the school the choice of, 'I want you to email my mom and dad that I'm changing the name,' and that made for a really great relationship with me and my child, because we were able to sit down at the dinner table and discuss it," Bruce said.

DOJ alleges district violated parents' rights

The Justice Department alleges the district withheld information from parents and denied them access to certain student records. Federal officials accuse the district of secretly "gender transitioning" students without their parents' knowledge or consent.

The lawsuit seeks to block the district's policies and require compliance with federal student privacy laws, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).

"Schools should not discuss preferred pronouns or 'gender identity' with a student without parental notification and consent," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said.

Dhillon also accused the district of keeping parents in the dark about their children's gender identity and restricting their access to education records.

"Parents should not be lied to, stonewalled, or branded as 'safety concerns' when they ask to see the education records that reveal what schools are secretly doing to their children," Dhillon said. "This Department will end illegal school policies that keep parents in the dark."

According to the Justice Department, the district's policies direct staff to solicit, document and act on students' self-identified names, pronouns and gender identities without notifying parents.

Federal officials also allege the district treats gender identity information as confidential and instructs staff to withhold it from parents when disclosure is considered a potential safety risk to students.

The lawsuit further alleges that Anne Arundel County Public Schools reports gender identity information to the Maryland State Department of Education without notifying parents or allowing them to challenge its accuracy.

The district drew scrutiny from the Trump administration after two families sued, alleging school staff helped a student transition at school while withholding information from the student's parents.

The complaint also describes an anonymous family's experience. According to the lawsuit, the family learned that school staff were helping their daughter present as male at school after receiving an email referring to her with male pronouns.

Anne Arundel schools amended policy in August

In August, Anne Arundel County Public Schools amended its gender identity policy after the Trump administration threatened legal action and the loss of federal funding.

Superintendent Dr. Mark Bedell said in a letter that the district was updating its policies on safe and inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ students and compliance with FERPA.

The amended policy clarifies that parents have the right to inspect and review their children's complete education records. Bedell also said no policy can interfere with parents' rights to information about a student's gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, preferred name or pronouns.

School district disputes DOJ allegations

An Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesperson said the district was notified of the lawsuit by outside counsel and was reviewing it closely.

"AACPS disagrees with the allegations and stands by its compliance with FERPA and PPRA," the spokesperson said. "Moreover, the school system has been in regular contact with the Department of Justice in a good faith effort to resolve their concerns while adhering to our obligations to all students, parents and staff."

The spokesperson said it was "regrettable that the Department chose to pursue litigation rather than continuing constructive dialogue."

Because the case is now before a federal court, the district said it would address the claims in its court filings and would have no further comment.