Tensions have been high between the Trump Administration and California, especially over California’s gender policies. Starting on February 11, 2026, California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the U.S. Department of Education. If California loses, it will lose a threatened 4.9 billion dollars in federal funding and have to amend its gender identity disclosure policies.
The Department of Education threatened to withhold the 4.9 billion dollars meant for supporting education in California, but the threat was blocked by the U.S. District Judge Noël Wise in the form of a restraining order.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) discovered that the California Department of Education (CDE) has continued to violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Specifically, the CDE has continued to use policies that require administrators of schools to conceal information about students’ gender identity if a student has not given consent. The threatened withholding of funding was an attempt to pressure California to require schools to notify parents when a student identifies as transgender.
Professor George Thomas, the Burnet C. Wohlford Professor of American Political Institutions at Claremont McKenna College, thinks that California has a solid case against the accusations.
“…as I understand the lawsuit, California is claiming that it is in compliance with FERPA and that the [Department of Education] is trying to unlawfully attach new standards in order for states to qualify for the billions in federal funding already allocated,” Thomas said. “So California is following the law and is entitled to federal dollars already allocated, and the DoE is going beyond the law in withholding funds. On the surface, at least, it looks like California has a reasonable case.”
California’s current laws on gender identity disclosure include California Education Code § 220.3. This code requires that teachers and other school staff not disclose any information about a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression without the student’s consent. This is unless it is otherwise specified by state or federal law.
The office of Bonta issued a press release addressing the lawsuit. They stated that the Trump Administration and the Department of Education had no legitimate evidence that the CDE is not following FERPA, and how they are going to fight for California schools and to protect the policies currently in place.
“‘The Trump Administration has produced no evidence that CDE is out of substantial compliance with FERPA, or even a single instance where a school has failed to honor a parent’s request for student records,’” Bonta said. “‘We will not stand by as U.S. ED uses baseless claims to attack crucial education funding. We will continue to fight to protect California’s schools and students from unfair attacks and work to ensure a discrimination-free educational environment for all students.”
