On Jan. 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced its finding that the California Department of Education (CDE) is “in continued violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) — a federal law granting parents the right to access their child’s education records — for policies that pressure school officials to conceal information about students’ ‘gender identity.’” The federal investigation that led to this conclusion began in March 2025 and relates primarily to Assembly Bill 1955, which became law in July 2024. AB 1955 prohibits local educational agencies from enacting or enforcing policies, regulations or rules that require the disclosure of information about a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation without the student’s consent.
The ED determined that state policies and guidance based on AB 1955 “coerced” LEAs in the state to withhold information from parents in violation of FERPA. The ED proposed a series of “voluntary actions” for the CDE to take in order to resolve the alleged violations. The actions include providing notice to all superintendents stating that “gender support plans” and related documents are education records subject to FERPA requirements among others.
As of this publication, the CDE has not issued a response to the ED’s finding. However, the CDE guidance, “Protections for LGBTQ+ Students: AB 1955,” posted on its website states that “AB 1955 does not mandate non-disclosure. AB 1955 does not specifically address whether a school employee may voluntarily disclose any information related to a pupil’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person without the pupil’s consent.”
For its part, the text of AB 1955 does not specifically address “gender support plans” and provides a carveout to its provisions for any conflict with state and federal law. Rather, it states that its provisions apply “unless otherwise required by state or federal law,” which would include FERPA. Last September, when considering a motion to dismiss in Chino Valley USD v. Newsom — a case challenging the constitutionality of AB 1955 for being in conflict with federal law — among other reasons, a federal court in the Eastern District of California held that, “FERPA and AB 1955 do not require conflicting actions on the part of schools” based on the carveout for potentially conflicting federal laws in the bill. That decision was appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where it is pending.
It is important to note that this area of the law is in significant flux, and CSBA will continue to monitor developments in this matter. LEAs with specific questions about the implications of this finding should contact CSBA’s District and County Office of Education Legal Services or their legal counsel.
