On January 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education announced that its Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) found the California Department of Education (CDE) in violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The finding stems from a March 2025 investigation into California’s Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth (SAFETY) Act and related state policies that prohibit school employees from disclosing a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to parents without the student’s consent, unless otherwise required by law. SPPO concluded that by enforcing these laws, CDE effectively interfered with parents’ federal right under FERPA to inspect and review their minor child’s education records. The Department also identified the use of undisclosed “gender support plans,” maintained separately from cumulative files, as inconsistent with FERPA’s requirement that parents be granted access to education records directly related to their child.
SPPO has offered CDE the opportunity to voluntarily resolve the violations by issuing statewide guidance clarifying that “gender support plans” constitute education records subject to parental inspection; notifying districts that there is no “unofficial records” exception under FERPA and that state law cannot override federal requirements; providing assurances that local educational agencies (LEAs) may comply with FERPA, including with respect to parental notification practices; obtaining LEA certifications of compliance; and incorporating SPPO-approved FERPA training into required LGBTQ cultural competency programs. The finding follows ongoing federal efforts to challenge California’s parental notification restrictions.