The U.S. government announced a “first-of-its-kind” probe Wednesday that could resolve problems between state and federal law, prompting some districts to mobilize as public school officials file civil rights charges against the state over its gender identification laws.
The Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or OSPI, has been the target of complaints from a number of districts regarding its policies. Citing the claims, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon charged the state with “hiding gender identity” from parents of pupils on Wednesday.
A special meeting about the submission of Title IX complaints to the U.S. Department of Education will be held on May 5 at the Central Valley School District in Spokane. McMahon received the concerns raised by Mead and Kennewick in March, and the department is currently looking into Tumwater for possible infractions.
“No state agency should be in the business of forcing school districts to adopt policies that potentially violate federal law,” Kennewick School Board president Gabe Galbraith told The Center Square, “especially when those policies undermine parental rights.”
OSPI handouts state that students, not parents or guardians, have the right to determine their gender. Although it complies with state law, the regulation and others pertaining to toilets and sports go counter to executive orders issued by President Donald Trump that forbid such actions.
The federal investigation is a “alarming attempt to infringe on the rights of our transgender and gender-expansive students,” according to Chris Reykdal, the superintendent of public instruction for Washington State.
“My office will enforce our current laws as we are required to do until Congress changes the law and/or federal courts invalidate Washington state’s laws,” Reykdal continued in a statement on Wednesday. “Unless, and until that happens, we will be following Washington state’s laws, not a president’s political leanings expressed through unlawful orders.”
The state agency seemed to be more concerned with advancing its agenda than safeguarding pupils, according to Galbraith, who referred to OSPI’s practice of keeping information from parents a “serious overreach.”
Two laws that would have restricted participation in girls’ sports to biological girls were recently rejected by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, which sets rules for school athletics.
The organization voted on the regulations, but informed the school districts that the vote would only be advisory, meaning that the WIAA would have the last say regardless of the result. The Center Square was informed by WIAA officials that they are and would continue to abide by state law.
“This is consistent with language the WIAA Office has shared with the membership dating back to August 2024,” WIAA Director of Communications Sean Bessette said Thursday. “If state law changes, the WIAA Executive Board has the authority to change policies accordingly.”
Many districts want to know exactly when state law is superseded by federal law. Trump has threatened to stop paying schools that violate federal law, but districts are in a difficult situation since they risk losing local support if they break state law.
Thanking McMahon, Trump, and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for the federal intervention, Mead School Board President Michael Cannon praised the DOE inquiry. He claimed that the district could lose funding as a result of OSPI policy, which Mead cannot afford.
“This investigation … affirms our stance against policies that restrict parental notification of gender identity changes and allow sports participation based on gender identity,” Cannon told The Center Square. “We urge a swift resolution to protect federal funding and clarify federal preemption.”
