Government · Baltimore, MD Metro · August 20, 2026
DOJ Pressure Forces Anne Arundel Schools to Restore Parental Access on Gender Policy
Anne Arundel County Public Schools amended its "Safe and Inclusive Environments for LGBTQ+ Students" policy this week after facing federal pressure, Maryland Matters reports. Superintendent Mark T. Bedell told the school community the confidentiality section was revised to affirm parents' right under FERPA to inspect their child's complete education record, including any information on gender identity, transgender status, or preferred name and pronouns. The change follows a July 8 lawsuit by America First Legal on behalf of parents identified as John and Jane Doe, who alleged the district had secretly facilitated their daughter's social gender transition at school without their consent since a 2019 policy shift. On July 27, the U.S. Department of Education and DOJ Civil Rights Division announced enforcement action against the district for classifying gender identity as confidential medical information withheld from parents. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon stated FERPA compliance is not optional. Local officials said they had not received formal notice before the announcement. The revised policy takes effect as the school year begins Monday.
Source: Maryland Matters
Why Bible-Believing Christians Should Care
This case shows how a public school district adopted policies deliberately concealing a child's gender transition from parents — treating parental authority as an obstacle rather than a God-given responsibility. Scripture places the duty to raise and instruct children squarely on parents, not government employees or school staff acting in secrecy. That it took a lawsuit and federal enforcement to restore basic access to a child's own records should alarm Christian families: institutions can quietly override biblical family authority under the language of "inclusion" and "safety." Parents in every district — not just Anne Arundel — should confirm their own schools have not adopted similar confidentiality practices that separate them from decisions rightly theirs to make.
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. — Ephesians 6:4
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From the book
Most policies currently threatening religious liberty and parental rights were never passed by Congress or by a state legislature. They were enacted by career officials interpreting vague statutes in ways that granted themselves new powers. Activists use Rule 4 to pressure agencies, arguing that broad terms already in existing law, words like safety or non-discrimination, mandate radical new enforcement. The result is a fundamental transformation of society without a single vote being cast.
— Chapter 20, “The Strategic Terrain: The Administrative State”
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