Trump administration investigates Maine for claims of withholding gender transitions from parents

PORTLAND, Maine — 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.

PORTLAND, Maine — 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. Representatives for the Maine Department of Education and Maine attorney general’s office did not respond to requests for comment 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.