CASEY RYAN: Maine Stepped In It Big Time

President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have spent the past few months undoubtedly working hard to eliminate radical gender ideology from America’s schools. Despite their best efforts to ensure our academic institutions provide a proper education to students, Maine has adamantly defied them at every turn, in an apparent attempt to overtake California as the woke capital of the United States.

Maine’s defiance began in February when Trump held an annual dinner for the nation’s governors. As the president discussed his executive order to prohibit men from participating in women’s sports, he called out Maine’s Democrat Gov. Janet Mills and said her state would lose federal funding if she did not comply. Mills responded that she would see Trump in court.

The issue has now escalated to the point where the Education Department (ED) has rightfully launched multiple investigations into Maine for refusing to comply with federal law as well as Trump’s executive orders to remove gender ideology from the state’s schools. (RELATED: Trump’s Ed Dept Launches ‘Special Investigations Team’ To Root Out Gender Ideology, Trans Athletes)

ED’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) launched an investigation into Maine the same week as the president’s dinner over allegations that the state “continues to allow male athletes to compete in girls’ interscholastic athletics and that it has denied female athletes female-only intimate facilities.” OCR was clear in the statement that refusing to comply would lead to a loss of federal funds.

The department then provided one last warning to Maine on March 31 before turning over the investigation to the Department of Justice. OCR explained in the warning that the administration offered Maine a resolution agreement earlier that month which resulted in no action. The state has a deadline of April 11 to comply or risk losing funding.

As a result of Maine embracing gender ideology in recent years, the parental rights organization Parents Defending Education (PDE) investigated the state and found that 57 school districts within Maine have official policies to keep the gender identity of students hidden from parents.

Teachers and administrators in these districts work in tandem with K-12 students to ensure that their transgender identity is not revealed to their parents, and in some cases, they promote gender ideology to the student body as a whole. PDE found that 59% of students in the state attend public schools with these policies.

Under McMahon’s guidance, ED used this report to launch another investigation into Maine last month for allegedly violating the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) by withholding vital health information from these students’ parents. FERPA is a law that provides parents with the right to access their children’s school records.

McMahon announced the investigation with PDE President Nicole Neily who explained these policies became too common — and even pervasive — in the previous administration. In a statement, McMahon explained that parents “have the right to access their child’s education records to guide and safeguard their child’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being.” She added that policies prohibiting parents from having access are “both illegal and immoral.”

The Trump administration is ensuring no stones are left unturned. On the same day as this investigation was announced, ED sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools throughout the country reminding them that parents have a right to education records, including knowing the gender identity of their children, under FERPA. The department explained that schools that refuse to comply may lose their federal funds.

Considering that the Trump administration stripped Columbia University of $400 million and is now in the process of cutting funding from Princeton University, this isn’t an empty threat.

This administration is fulfilling its promise to hold our schools accountable for their actions.

No institution that promotes gender ideology should continue to receive federal tax dollars.

A recent poll revealed that 64% of residents in Maine are against allowing men to play in women’s sports. Mills is upholding very unpopular policies in her state for no other reason than to appeal to a small minority of her party’s base. If the governor truly cares about her students, she will follow federal law and eliminate radical gender ideology from her state’s institutions.

Schools in every state hold the responsibility of providing a safe environment for children to receive a proper education. Maine’s students unfortunately do not have that safe environment. They deserve better.

Casey Ryan is a writer and investigative reporter at Parents Defending Education.

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