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Michigan’s superintendent is firing back at the U.S. Justice Department by saying the Trump administration’s Title IX investigations into three districts are based on false information about the state’s health education guidelines.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon sent notices of compliance reviews to superintendents of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, Lansing School District, and Godfrey-Lee Public Schools on Wednesday. The department said it is investigating whether the districts have included “sexual orientation or gender ideology content” in any classroom and if parents were notified of their rights to opt their children out of such instruction. It will also determine if transgender students are allowed to use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity.
The letters cited the Michigan State Board of Education’s November revision of its “Michigan Health Education Standards Guidelines” that recommended students be taught about gender identity and sexual orientation. The correspondence said “health is a required class for graduation in the state of Michigan, with no opportunity for parents to opt their children out of receiving instruction.”
In a statement Thursday, State Superintendent Glenn Maleyko said the premise of the investigations are a “mischaracterization.”
“Local school boards set health curriculum with input from local sex education advisory boards,” he said. “Local control remains in place. Parents retain the right to decide whether their children should participate in sex education instruction.”
The current health education guidelines noted that under existing state law, parents must be notified ahead of sex education classes, have a right to review curriculum, and can opt their children out of all or some of it without penalty.
Michigan districts decide their own curriculums and are not required to comply with suggestions in the state board’s guidelines.
When the state’s current health education guidelines were proposed last year, many conservative and religious parents and community members spoke out against the changes. They claimed their rights to protect their children’s religious upbringing were stripped away.
Maleyko also reaffirmed the state’s commitment to ensuring all students feel safe and included.
“The much-needed updates to health education guidelines—which the Department of Justice falsely said are state requirements—help local districts make decisions on how they can support student health,” he said.
The Justice Department is asking the districts to hand over numerous documents, including library books with mentions of LGBTQ+ matters, curriculum texts, and presentations.
The letters threaten terminating federal funding if the districts do not comply.
All three districts receive high percentages of their funding from federal grants, said Peter Spadafore, executive director of the Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity, an organization that works to help students in districts with the greatest needs by creating educational equity.
Advocates worry the investigations will hurt youth
Erin Knott, executive director of the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Equality Michigan, said in a statement that the group is disappointed about the investigations.
“LGBTQ+ youth are among the most vulnerable young people in our state,” she said. “They face higher rates of bullying, harassment, and mental health challenges. Inclusive education policies are not ‘ideology,’ they are evidence-based efforts to ensure that every student feels safe, respected, and seen in their own school community.”
Jay Kaplan, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan, said while the investigations may not have legal bearing, they could cause a chilling effect that results in districts rolling back protections for LGBTQ+ students.
“This is an attempt to harass and bully districts into discriminating against trans kids and into erasing the existence of LGBTQ people,” he said.
Many Michigan LGBTQ+ youth say they fear the ripple effects of political rhetoric in President Donald Trump’s second term. A 2024 survey by the nonprofit advocacy group the Trevor Project found 89% of Michigan LGBTQ+ students said recent politics negatively impacted their sense of well-being.
Affirming policies are potentially life-saving, other surveys suggest.
Why the DOJ opened the investigation
The DOJ said in the letter that the revised standards could violate Title IX or a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Mahmoud v. Taylor, which requires districts to allow parents to opt their children out from classes with LGBTQ+ themes.
Spokespeople from the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to questions about why the three districts are the target of the investigations.
Kaplan said it appears districts with large populations of Latino and Black students in communities experiencing high rates of poverty were targeted. He said investigations are unusual because they don’t appear to be prompted by parent complaints. He added the letters are “constitutionally flawed,” and that current law does not allow the executive branch to dictate what local schools teach.
Arnetta Thompson, superintendent of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, said in an email the district will provide all information the DOJ requested.
“At this time, this is a standard review process. “The District is not facing any charges or findings of wrongdoing. We remain committed to complying with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and have consistently operated in accordance with those laws.”
Spokespeople for the Detroit Public Schools Community District and the Lansing School District declined to comment.
Monique Bryant, a member of the DPSCD board, said as a parent she has never had a concern about classroom material.
“Sometimes you can have students and parents go too far left with something, and we have to be thoughtful and mindful of everyone,” she added.
Lansing school board President Guillermo Lopez said he had not heard complaints from any parents about not being able to opt out.
House Speaker Matt Hall, a Republican from Richland Township, said at his regular news conference on Feb. 19 he supports the investigations because he doesn’t think most parents want their children receiving that type of instruction.
If it is happening, officials should “put a stop to it,” Hall said.“I would welcome more investigations.”
State Board of Education member Tom McMillan, a Republican from Oakland Township, said he was pleased to learn of the DOJ investigation: “This is one of the things the federal government can do to make kids safe.”
Even though state law says that parents have a right to opt out their children from sex education lessons, McMillan said there are no consequences for districts that do not follow the opt-out law.
“I think there should be serious consequences, removal of funds, maybe jail time, prison, for districts that don’t follow the law,” he said. “If they are harming kids, allowing boys to go into girls’ locker rooms, showers, that’s perversion and should be met with some kind of serious consequences.”
Pamela Pugh, president of the State Board of Education and a Democrat from Saginaw, said the investigation is a “politically motivated fishing expedition” and “a misuse of federal resources” that will burden local schools.
Trump threatens funding over transgender student protections, DEI
As promised during his campaign, Trump has targeted transgender communities and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in multiple executive orders.
Since last year, the Michigan Department of Education has pushed back on those executive orders, saying its efforts to incorporate curriculum that reflects diverse experiences won’t change.
The Trump administration has also targeted districts across the country with investigations and funding threats.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights announced an investigation into New York City’s education department for a policy that allows transgender students to play on sports teams in line with their gender identity.
Denver Public Schools was investigated last year by the Department of Education for converting a girls’ restroom into an all-gender restroom.
Chicago is facing a loss of millions in federal funding for magnet schools due to a dispute with the Department of Education over how the district serves transgender and Black students.
Another Title IX probe began in Maine in April. The Department of Justice sued Minneapolis Public Schools over its layoff protections for teachers of color in December.
Hannah Dellinger covers K-12 education and state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.
Georgea Kovanis is a reporter covering LGBTQ+ issues for the Detroit Free Press. You can reach her at gkovanis@freepress.com.
Paul Egan contributed to this report.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.