08/29/2026
Frederick County school board President 🍎 Dean Rose said Friday that he hasn't received any updates from the U.S. Department of Education on its investigation into Frederick County Public Schools' gender identity policy since the government's initial announcement in June.
"I don't know where the Department of Education's focus is on this investigation because we have not received an update since the initial communication that we received," 🍎 Rose said. "So, I don't really even know where we are."
The U.S. Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment on an update for the investigation by press time on Friday.
"Frederick County Public Schools stands by its prior statement that the notification from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights of an investigation into the Maryland State Department of Education and several Maryland school systems, including FCPS, reflects the initiation of a fact-finding process and is not a finding of fault or determination that any violation has occurred," Eric Louérs–Phillips, FCPS' associate superintendent of public affairs, wrote in a statement to The Frederick News-Post. "FCPS responded to the OCR request and they will continue their investigation."
🍎 Rose confirmed that Policy 443, the school district's gender identity policy, is still in effect as usual.
🍎➡️🍊 On June 23, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it is launching an investigation into Frederick County Public Schools after receiving an allegation that its gender identity policy violates Title IX by permitting boys to participate in girls' athletic teams and access girls' intimate facilities, according to its press release.
🍎➡️🍊 In the same announcement, the Department of Education said it would also investigate the Maryland State Department of Education, Montgomery County Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools under the same allegations.
🔥🍎🔥 According to FCPS' Policy 443, which has received both praise and pushback from community members and school board members, all students should have access to facilities that align with their gender identity and gender expression.
🍎 The policy also allows students to participate in FCPS sports teams and physical education classes that align with their gender identity and gender expression.
🍎 For the federal investigation, the Department of Education received a complaint by the Office of Civil Rights alleging that Maryland's statewide guidance and district-level policies require schools to allow boys to compete in girls' athletics and to use girl-only locker rooms, restrooms and overnight accommodations.
🍎➡️🍊 The complaint further alleges that when female students objected to sharing s*x-separated spaces with boys, districts "placed the burden on those girls" to seek alternative facilities, including "distant single-user restrooms," according to the Department of Education's press release.
🍎➡️🍊 The U.S. Department of Education will investigate if this violates Title IX, a federal civil rights law that prohibits s*x-based discrimination.
🍎➡️🍊 Violation of Title IX can result in the termination of an educational entity's federal funding, according to the press release.
🍎➡️🍊 As FCPS awaits results on its investigation, Anne Arundel County Public Schools amended its gender identity policy on Aug. 19 after receiving a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice stating the policy violated parents' Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) rights.
🍎➡️🍊 In a letter to the school district, Superintendent Mark T. Bedell said the policy has been amended to "clarify" that it gives parents the rights to inspect and review all parts of their child's education record under FERPA, including information that relates to "gender identity, transgender status, s*xual orientation, preferred name, or preferred pronouns."
🍎 Previously, the policy did not have a specific statement about FERPA rights for parents, which has now been added.
🍎 FCPS' policy states that the staff "shall not disclose that a student is transgender or gender diverse to anyone other than school staff, any individual to whom the student expressly authorizes staff to disclose such information or appropriate law enforcement, medical or emergency response professionals."
🍎 However, the policy states that this information will be kept confidential in accordance with applicable federal, state and local privacy and student records laws, in compliance with FERPA.
🍎➡️🍊 When FCPS revised its gender identity policy in December, it added the statement about parents' FERPA rights.
🍊 School board member Jaime Brennan said Friday in an interview that despite this statement about FERPA being in FCPS' policy, which she advocated for including, the policy still violates FERPA.
🍊 "The idea is that we as parents shouldn't have to come in person and demand a review of our child's formal name change file in the district to find out if you are facilitating supporting the child identifying as a gender other than their s*x at birth," she said.
🍊 Brennan maintained that the policy also violates Title IX, which the federal government is currently investigating.
🍎➡️🍊 While she could not comment further on the current investigation into FCPS, she said, "as I'm aware, we've been responsive to the request."
🍎 Rose said Friday in an interview that the school board is aware of Anne Arundel's policy change but he doesn't know of anyone raising concerns about how this would impact the future of FCPS' policy.
🍎 Board Vice President Rae Gallagher wrote in a statement Friday that she does not see a need to update the policy at this time.
🍎 Board member Janie Inglis Monier wrote that while she cannot comment on the specific case, as a board member, she will "continue to advocate for welcoming and inclusive environments where all students, educators and staff can thrive and grow."
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Frederick County school board President Dean Rose said Friday that he hasn't received any updates from the U.S. Department of Education on its investigation into Frederick County Public Schools' gender
