Federal investigation launched into Washington’s education office

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have launched a “first-of-its-kind” investigation into the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), officials announced Wednesday.

The department said multiple Washington state school districts reported that OSPI is requiring school boards to adopt policies that allow males to participate in female sports and use female-only facilities, raising Title IX concerns.

ED said its Title IX Special Investigations Team (Title IX SIT), in collaboration with the DOJ, is conducting a directed investigation into 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),” ED said in a news release.

“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,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said.

“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,” McMahon said. “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.”

Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal released a statement Wednesday afternoon.

“This investigation, which alleges that OSPI is out of compliance with Title IX, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), is the latest target in the Administration’s dangerous war against individuals who are transgender or gender-expansive,” Reykdal said. “In this alarming attempt to infringe on the rights of our transgender and gender-expansive students, the Department is trying to co-opt laws enacted to protect students from discrimination and distort them into mandated discrimination. The Department also attempts to twist FERPA and PPRA into tools designed to undermine the health, safety, and wellbeing of students. The interpretations taken by the Department are not supported by these laws.”

OSPI previously investigated La Center School District

The La Center School District, which has approximately 1,800 students throughout Clark County, has been embroiled in a conflict over its preferred pronoun policy between the state of Washington and the Trump administration.

OSPI previously investigated the district, finding it discriminated against students and families with its approach to gender inclusivity. Washington’s policy, adopted in 2020, for gender inclusion is to have students tell staff their preferred pronouns. However, within the La Center School District, staff were prohibited from asking students what their preferred gender pronouns are.

Under the district policy, if a student shares their preferred pronouns to faculty, staff should report it to the student’s parents or guardians “so that the parents/guardians may provide appropriate support for their children.” The staff was also instructed to use the preferred pronouns with the student.

OSPI gave the district 45 days to draw up new gender identity-related guidelines that follow state law. The district appealed the findings last month.

Now the federal government is involved

The Department of Education alleged that OSPI is violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, and Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools that receive federal funding, according to The Washington State Standard.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon told schools they must abide by the law “if they expect federal funding to continue.”

OSPI’s counter is that the Department of Education is potentially overstepping its authority. A timeline of the conflict can be found on the district website.

This is not the first investigation into the state. The Department of Education is also looking into the Tumwater School District for allowing transgender girls participate athletic competitions against biological girls. The Kennewick School Board has asked for a similar investigation.

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