U.S. Dept. of Education Launches Federal Investigation Into the WA State OSPI
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Press Release: Title IX Special Investigations Team Launches Directed Investigation into Washington State Superintendent's Office
The Investigation Comes Amid Reports that Washington State Policies Conflict with Title IX, FERPA, and PPRA “Multiple Washington state school districts report OSPI is requiring school boards to adopt policies that allow males to participate in female sports and occupy female-only intimate facilities.”
Today, the Title IX Special Investigations Team (Title IX SIT), a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), launched a directed investigation into the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). This investigation comes amid reports that OSPI has imposed requirements on school districts that potentially violate federal law, specifically, Title IX, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).
Multiple Washington State school districts have reported that OSPI is requiring school boards to adopt policies that allow males to participate in female sports and occupy female-only intimate facilities, thereby raising substantial Title IX concerns.
In addition, a letter of finding from OSPI to the La Center School District earlier this year raised concerns that OSPI is requiring districts to implement policies, such as mandating that districts not notify parents of a change in their child’s “gender identity,” which violate federal parental rights laws, specifically, FERPA and PPRA. Accordingly, the ED-DOJ Title IX SIT, through ED’s Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) and Office for Civil Rights (OCR), has initiated this investigation.
“Today’s investigation into Washington OSPI is a first-of-its-kind, bringing together ED and DOJ, and multiple offices within ED, to adjudicate several potential violations of federal law,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Washington State appears to use its position of authority to coerce its districts into hiding ‘gender identity’ information from students’ parents and to adopt policies to covertly smuggle gender ideology into the classroom, confusing students and letting boys into girls’ sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms. If true, these are clear violations of parental rights and female equality in athletics, which are protected by federal laws that will be enforced by the Trump Administration.”
Background:
Earlier this month, the ED’s Office of the General Counsel sent a letter to the state administrative tribunal wherein OSPI is threatening La Center School District with state funding termination over La Center’s unwillingness to adopt policies that potentially violate federal laws. For example, in February, OSPI mandated that La Center “not proactively share information about any students’ gender identity without the student’s consent,” which may violate parents’ rights under FERPA to inspect their child’s school records. OSPI also directed La Center to train school personnel on the use of a screen tool designed to “eliminate bias related to gender identity” in instructional materials, possibly violating PPRA’s provisions for educational agencies to consult parents while adopting policies which address the protection of student privacy.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and its implementing regulation prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
FERPA and PPRA are federal privacy laws enforced by the Department’s SPPO. FERPA gives parents the right to access their children’s education records, the right to request record corrections or amendments, and the right to control (with important exceptions) disclosure of personally identifiable information in education records. PPRA gives parents notice and opt-out rights when a school administers surveys or questionnaires asking students for certain sensitive, private information about students and their families.
Last month, ED’s SPPO sent a Dear Colleague Letter that directed educational entities to comply with parental rights laws. State laws do not override federal laws, and educational entities receiving federal funding are subject to FERPA and PPRA and its implementing regulations.
A big thank you to David Spring M. Ed., and Washington Parents Network for helping to spearhead this effort! Their Title IX and Title VI complaints were recently submitted to the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights.
For the past eight years, OSPI has imposed numerous requirements on Washington school districts that violate not only Title IX, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment but also Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
It is time for Chris Reykdal to stop violating the civil rights of a million students in WA state and recognize that, under Article VI, Section 2 of the US Constitution, Washington State Civil Rights laws that conflict with federal civil rights laws are null and void. His claim that state civil rights laws allow him to ignore federal civil rights laws is absurd and a violation of his Oath of Office.
Bill Bruch
Bill Bruch is the WA State GOP Election Integrity Committee Chairman (5th year), WAGOP Executive Board Member (5th Year), Skagit County GOP Chairman (9th year), Citizen Journalist, Blogger, Business Owner, 2020 WA State House Representative Candidate, Former Council Member, and WA State 2016 and 2024 RNC National Convention Delegate.