DOJ Accuses AACPS Of Keeping Parents In The Dark With Gender Identity Policy

The Justice Department sued Anne Arundel County Public Schools months after initially flagging its student gender identity policy.

By Gaby Arancibia, Patch Staff

Oct 27, 2026 10:39 PM EDT

Anne Arundel County Public Schools was sued Tuesday by the Justice Department over its gender policies. (Jacob Baumgart/Patch)

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — The Board of Education in Anne Arundel County was hit with a lawsuit late Tuesday by the U.S. Justice Department over claims the district "secretly" allows students to change their gender without parental consent or knowledge.

A 31-page complaint argues that staffers with Anne Arundel County Public Schools excluded parents from discussions about a student's gender identity in cases where the district believed their involvement presented safety concerns.

One case highlighted in the complaint surrounds a family who received two AACPS emails regarding their child that used a male name and pronouns, as opposed to the student's birth name.

When the parents contacted the school, the complaint states the pair were informed education records could not be immediately provided as they either needed to make an appointment or file a subpoena.

The response, according to the DOJ, is in violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.

"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 in a statement.

"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. This Department will end illegal school policies that keep parents in the dark."

AACPS told The Banner the district learned of the lawsuit Tuesday, and that it had 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."

School officials are now "closely" reviewing the lawsuit.

Patch has reached out to AACPS for comment.

The latest comes months after the AACPS policy came under scrutiny over the summer. In fact, the district revised its policy at the start of the school year to clarify that parental rights were not being infringed.