Trump’s education secretary claims schools are secretly transitioning children. They aren’t

Education Secretary Linda McMahon claimed that federal investigations in three states found public school officials helping children socially transition at school while keeping that information from their parents.McMahon made the sweeping claim in an interview with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” where host Maria Bartiromo asked about “evidence that there are certain schools in certain counties that are encouraging transitions for kids and hiding it from the parents.” “This is a travesty that parents are not considered first and foremost in charge of their children. They don't belong to the government,” McMahon said.Within hours, the Education Department announced a “crackdown” on “School Districts Secretly ‘Transitioning’ Students and Hiding it from Parents.” The agency said it had taken “significant action” against Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland and Ann Arbor Public Schools in Michigan, and that the Justice Department would pursue enforcement action against the districts.The announcement followed Education Department findings that the districts had treated information about a student’s gender identity as part of the student’s private medical or educational record — information that, in some circumstances, could be kept confidential from a parent or legal guardian.“As a mother and a grandmother, it is unconscionable that any school district would hide the most sensitive information about children in their care from their own parents. This is not only an affront to basic moral principles, but also to parents’ rights under federal law,” McMahon said in a statement. One Maryland example involved parents who did learn that their child was using a different gender identity at school. Forms sent home referred to the child with he/him pronouns, but the school’s principal declined to provide the parents with further information about the change.“Today, ED and DOJ are putting districts on notice that we will