# 15 - Rob Bonta, California's AG Sues To Keep Parents In The Dark

Bonta Sues To Keep Parents In the Dark

A lawsuit comes after a federal investigation sparked by a California Justice Center complaint exposing FERPA violations.

Just weeks after a federal investigation found that the California Department of Education had “egregiously abused its authority” by hiding students’ gender transitions from parents, California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued to stop federal enforcement actions — the latest move in his crusade to keep parents in the dark.

In January, the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) announced findings that California Department of Education (CDE) policies are in “continued violation” of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) — the federal law guaranteeing parents access to their children’s education records.

In other words, rather than comply with federal demands to bring California into alignment with FERPA, Bonta has spend 10 months advancing a legal hat trick: sending a series of notices to school districts advising school official that they are not required to comply with FERPA, while at the same time insisting that "there is no conflict between AB1955 and FERPA.

Indeed,, in his February lawsuit, Bonta continues to argue that gender support plans and other "unofficial" documents related to a student's gender transition do not qualify as "education records" under FERPA at all.

Source : California Policy Center - californiapoliccycenter.org

Feb 27, 2026 Source : californiapolicycenter.org & California Family Council

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BRIEF SUMMARY OF AB-1955 BY CALIFORNIA FAMILY COUNCIL

"Erosion of Parental Rights and Responsibilities : AB1955 marginalizes parents, preventing them from receiving critical information about their children.

AB-1955 Prohibits a school district, COE, charter school, or state special school, or a member of a governing board or body, from enacting or enforcing any policy, rule, or administrative regulation requiring an employee or contractor to disclose any information related to a student's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person without the student's consent, unless otherwise required by state or federal law. States that this is declaratory of existing law.

Source : California Family Council