Attorney General Bonta Sues Trump Administration to Block Unlawful Threat to Terminate $4.9 Billion in Federal Education Funding

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today filed a lawsuit and a request for a temporary restraining order challenging the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. ED)’s findings that the California Department of Education (CDE) “facilitated and promoted the adoption of policies and practices that violate” the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The Trump administration demanded that CDE take “corrective actions” not required by FERPA, including permitting California local educational agencies (LEAs) to adopt parental notification policies that may forcibly “out” transgender students. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta argues that California is in substantial compliance with FERPA, and that U.S. ED’s findings are an unconstitutional attempt to impose new conditions on $ 4.9 billion in federal education funding.

“This is a flagrant attempt by the U.S. Department of Education to intimidate the California Department of Education and California’s local education agencies under the guise of enforcing FERPA,” said Attorney General Bonta. “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. 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.”

On March 28, 2025, U.S. ED opened an investigation into whether local educational agencies (LEAs) in California are violating FERPA — a law which grants parents the right to request and review their children’s education records— and whether CDE facilitated and promoted the adoption of policies and practices that violate FERPA. On January 28, 2026, U.S. ED sent CDE a letter of findings (findings letter) alleging certain CDE policies and practices place pressure on LEAs to enact policies that do not comply with FERPA. U.S. ED alleges that multiple local school policies and practices are intended to obscure students’ records from their parents, including information about students’ gender identity, preferred name, and pronouns. The findings letter demands multiple “corrective actions” to achieve FERPA compliance, including requiring CDE to allow school districts to enforce FERPA in a manner that promotes affirmatively notifying parents of changes to a children’s gender identity.

In today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta asks the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to provide declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent U.S. ED from taking legal action against CDE. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta argues that:

• There is no evidence that any of CDE’s policies and practices cited in the findings letter promote school district noncompliance with FERPA. 
• CDE has clearly and repeatedly issued guidance to districts making clear that parents have the right to request to inspect and review their children's education records under FERPA, even if those records contain information related to a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
• FERPA does not require schools to affirmatively disclose a student’s gender identity or preferred name or pronouns to parents, nor does it mention gender identity. U.S. ED has exceeded its authority in demanding that California allow LEAs to include gender identity and pro-parental notification methods under FERPA enforcement.
• FERPA only requires disclosure of education records; it does not apply to “information” generally.     
• U.S. ED provides no evidence of any school failing to comply with an explicit request for student records under FERPA.