Maryland School District Faces Lawsuit Over Gender Transition Policies

A school district in Maryland is being sued after parents claimed that officials hid their daughter’s gender transition, citing district policy as justification for keeping it under wraps.

America First Legal (AFL) is representing the unnamed parents in this case, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. They allege that the policies of Anne Arundel County Public Schools violate their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, as well as similar provisions found in the Maryland Constitution.

This lawsuit is part of a larger trend, with various lawsuits emerging against school districts that permit teachers to keep students’ gender identities secret from their parents. Coincidentally, this aligns with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that, according to America First Legal, reinforced parents’ rights concerning their children’s upbringing.

Ian Prior, a senior counsel at America First Legal, criticized the district for ignoring this legal precedent.

He remarked, “The school system called my client’s daughter by a male name and assumed her identity as male, but the school didn’t acknowledge that. We weren’t informed either. When we finally found out and confronted the school, they outright lied to us.” He added that the school dismissed further discussions on the matter, claiming, “That’s the law,” which he argues is incorrect.

Pryor pointed out that the Supreme Court clarified in the recent Mirabelli case that parents hold the fundamental right to raise their children without school interference, especially regarding social transitions.

The issue reportedly began in December 2025, when a teacher mistakenly emailed a parent using their daughter’s male name. After trying to retract the email, the teacher later confessed that their initial explanation was false, admitting the student wished to be identified by a male name. Following that, the parents requested that the school use only their daughter’s legal name and sought records related to the situation.

The complaint asserts that school officials denied these requests, citing district regulations that obliged staff to respect students’ chosen names while on school grounds.

Months later, another teacher allegedly repeated the same mistake by using the male name in an email about a field trip. Upon inquiry, the teacher initially provided a misleading explanation, before acknowledging that he indeed used their daughter’s name.

The complaint indicates that the district policies mandate staff to use students’ preferred names and pronouns while maintaining confidentiality about their gender identity without parent notification.

Pryor expressed disappointment that this issue has escalated to litigation, particularly since the Supreme Court has succinctly determined what schools are permitted and not permitted to do. He noted that to compel compliance with constitutional rights, legal actions often become necessary.

This lawsuit mirrors other legal actions the AFL has initiated in recent months against school policies regarding gender identity. Just weeks earlier, on June 22, 2025, they filed a federal lawsuit against Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia under similar allegations, arguing that the district’s policies infringed upon parental rights. That case remains in its infancy.

Prior mentioned that the AFL is pursuing additional custody cases in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, specifically in Pennsylvania and California.

These legal developments occur amid increasing pressure from the Trump administration to challenge school policies related to parental notification and gender identity. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Education asserted that the California Department of Education was violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and has pressured school officials to conceal gender identity information from parents. California has contested these conclusions, and legal disputes are ongoing.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools has opted not to comment on the lawsuit.