Parents' Rights in the Enforcement Spotlight: Education Department Acts Against LAUSD and Opens Misconduct Probes Into Districts in Several States
The U.S. Department of Education announced a package of actions on October 9, several of them bearing directly on what parents are entitled to know about their children at school. In a joint letter with the Department of Justice to state attorneys general nationwide, the Department reaffirmed that under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), parents hold the primary role in directing their children's education.
The Department also announced an enforcement action against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), saying the district's policies keep sensitive student information confidential from parents.
On campus safety, the Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has opened Title IX investigations under the banner "Pass the Trash," targeting sexual misconduct by school staff against students. The targets include New York City's education department, Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado, and school districts in California, Georgia, North Carolina, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia.
OCR also announced it is expanding a Title VI antisemitism investigation into Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, an inquiry opened on October 7.
The Department said that in fiscal year 2026 it has delivered more than $3.4 billion in funding through interagency agreements, and that roughly 70 million "Trump Accounts" have been created.
For Chinese American parents, the takeaway is concrete: parents have a legal right to be informed about their children's school records, and how a school district handles staff misconduct and federal civil rights requirements is now under closer federal scrutiny.
(Source: U.S. Department of Education press releases)
Source: U.S. Department of Education
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国教育部总部大楼（资料图） Photo: G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
