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Washington schools chief Chris Reykdal decried what he said was a Trump administration “media stunt” after the U.S. Department of Education demanded Thursday that Washington and California stop allowing schools to withhold from parents information about their child’s gender identity.
At issue is whether schools must tell parents when their child asked to be referred to by a new pronoun or name – even though it does not do so when, for instance, a student asks to be called by a new name not associated with a change in gender identity.
Reykdal accused the federal agency of jumping the gun as well as overstating the confidentiality Washington provides students who request their school honor their gender identity.
“To the surprise of no one, the Trump White House is playing the worst kind of politics by threatening to withhold federal funds from states that don’t comply with their political ideology,” he said in a statement. “While the Trump administration continues their lengthy fishing expedition on the taxpayer’s dime, my office will continue to uphold and enforce our state and federal laws.”
California’s policy is still being challenged in the courts, with an appeal of a district court decision pending before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, he noted. Moreover, Reykdal said, Washington’s policy on informing parents about a child’s gender identity fully complies with state and federal laws, he said.
Washington state policy requires schools to truthfully answer parents’ questions about the gender identity their child expresses at school, and it also requires schools provide students’ educational records to parents, Reykdal and a spokesperson said. But schools do not proactively inform parents of a change in gender identity if the student does not ask them to, as that could be seen as discrimination under Washington civil rights law, spokesperson Katy Payne told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Reykdal accused the federal education department of making a sham announcement in a press release issued Thursday. The case out of California is still being litigated and there has been no finding that Washington’s policies are out of line, he said.
Washington requires school districts to report each student’s gender to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction via the state’s student information data system, Payne said. The options available are female, male, and gender X. If a student wishes to have their gender information changed, or the student’s parent or guardian requests a change, the school district can update the information following their local procedures, she said. Parents may see those records upon request.
In its press release, Trump’s education department said, “California and Washington maintain policies and guidance — and have even pursued litigation against their own school districts — to pressure schools and educators to hide student records from parents.”
It said recent court rulings have reinforced the department’s “commitment to protecting students from radical indoctrination in K-12 schools.”
In March, the department noted, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments about the 9th Circuit decision to pause the lower court ruling until it could hear the full case. In a narrow reversal of that stay, the Supreme Court ruled that the particular families who brought the lawsuit protesting their school’s lack of disclosure about their child’s gender transition should get full disclosure in the meantime.
The high court wrote that, “under long-established precedent, parents – not the State – have primary authority with respect to the upbringing and education of children,” the education department noted.
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