The U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice have opened a joint investigation into Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), alleging that the state’s protections for transgender students may violate federal law. The probe, led by the newly formed Title IX Special Investigations Team, centers on the claim that OSPI mandates policies allowing transgender students to participate in girls’ sports and access female-designated restrooms and locker rooms.
In a statement released this week, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon described the investigation as a “first-of-its-kind” effort to enforce federal laws around parental rights and sex-based protections. “If true, these are clear violations of parental rights and female equality in athletics,” she said, accusing Washington state of “covertly smuggling gender ideology into classrooms.”
The joint federal inquiry follows an OSPI investigation into La Center School District in Clark County. That case found the district discriminated against students based on gender identity and expression, specifically for failing to support students requesting to use their preferred names and pronouns and for not protecting them from bullying after being outed.
OSPI’s corrective guidance threatened sanctions if the district failed to come into compliance with state law, which has prohibited discrimination based on gender identity since 2006. Since 2007, Washington law has also allowed students to participate in school sports aligned with their gender identity.
The federal investigation also cites concerns that OSPI encourages schools not to notify parents when a student changes their gender identity, arguing this may violate federal laws such as FERPA and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). McMahon’s team contends this infringes upon parental rights and runs afoul of Title IX, which under the Trump administration’s guidance is now interpreted to apply strictly to biological sex.
In a sharply worded response, State Superintendent Chris Reykdal condemned the investigation as “an alarming attempt to infringe on the rights of our transgender and gender-expansive students.”
Reykdal emphasized that Washington’s laws have been “successfully enforced for nearly two decades” and that schools must provide all students, not just transgender students, with access to private facilities when requested.
“Unfortunately, it is not safe for all individuals to open up to their family regarding gender identity,” Reykdal stated, citing research that shows family rejection significantly increases suicide risk and substance abuse among transgender youth. “It is not the role of the school system to force those conversations.”
Reykdal also rejected the notion that the state’s policies violate federal law, saying that his office “will enforce our current laws… until Congress changes the law and/or federal courts invalidate Washington state’s laws. We will be following Washington’s laws, not a president’s political leanings expressed through unlawful orders.”
The investigation has placed several school districts, including Mead and Central Valley, in a legal bind as they navigate conflicting guidance between federal directives and state law.
For transgender students and their families, the implications of this federal action are deeply personal. As state and federal authorities battle over jurisdiction, it is the safety, dignity, and mental health of young people, many already vulnerable, that hang in the balance.
At TransVitae, we’ll continue to follow this developing story.
