California Department of Education Reiterates Parents’ Rights to Review Student Records

SACRAMENTO—Today, the California Department of Education (CDE) sent a letter to all district and county superintendents and charter administrators to reiterate the facts of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and California law.

As previously and continuously stated, there is no evidence to support the Trump administration’s allegation that ‘the CDE coerces school districts to withhold information’ from parents.

Today’s letter states:

“Under FERPA, parents of students under eighteen years of age have the right to inspect and review the education records of their children, upon request… As we have noted in previous communications to you about FERPA, ‘[Assembly Bill] 1955 does not contradict parents’ rights to request to inspect and review their students’ education records under FERPA, even if they contain information related to a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.’”

In an April 2025 communication to all schools, the CDE stated plainly: “AB 1955 does not mandate nondisclosure. AB 1955 prohibits [local educational agencies] from mandating that staff disclose a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to another person without student consent, unless otherwise required by state or federal law.”

There is no California state law or CDE policy that precludes parents’ rights under FERPA to inspect their child’s education records, even if they contain information related to gender identity or are kept in a separate location from the student’s central file.

For a comprehensive record of all CDE responses to federal actions since 2025, please see the Responses to Federal Actions web page.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100