The Trump Administration’s multiple probes into Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and her cabinet agencies have now expanded to include potential violations of federal law stemming from public school policies that allow school officials to keep secrets from parents about sex-change counseling for minors.

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) initiated an investigation into the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) on Friday for concealing children’s gender transitions from parents in a potential violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

“We have heard disturbing reports that dozens of Maine school districts allow for schools to create “gender plans” that support a student’s ‘transgender identity’ and then hide those plans from parents, claiming they don’t fall under education records. That is unacceptable and unlawful,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, announcing the investigation.

“Parents and guardians have the right to access their child’s education records, to guide an safeguard their child’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being, and we will uphold the law,” she added.

Maine Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn), whose post showing a transgender-identifying male standing victorious over female high school athletes ultimately drew President Donald Trump’s attention to Maine and led to her censure by the state’s Democrat-controlled legislature, also weighed in on the investigation.

“This investigation comes amid reports that dozens of Maine school districts are violating or misusing FERPA by maintaining policies that infringe on parents’ rights,” said Rep. Libby on X.

“Thank you to the Trump administration for putting @GovJanetMills and the Democrat majority on notice. We will NOT tolerate the extreme agenda that considers OUR children to be property of the state any longer,” she added.

The DOE cited a February report from The Federalist that found, using documents acquired by the parental rights advocacy group Parents Defending Education, that 57 Maine schools—including the most populous—have policies telling teachers concealing from parents when their children begin to identify as transgender and go by a different name and different pronouns when not at home.

In some cases, schools do more than just conceal a transition; they actively work to facilitate that transition with “gender plans” that help minors plan how to take further steps to appear as the opposite gender, and sometimes even help them take those steps.

The Maine Wire previously reported in 2023 on the case of a school social worker at the Great Salt Bay Community School (GSBCS) in Damariscotta, who gave two chest binders to a 13-year-old girl to help her appear more like a boy without her parents’ knowledge.

The school denied that the parents were unaware of the chest binder but argued that, even if they were, the school has no requirement to inform them.

“Under the previous Administration, we were fighting to protect our children from irreversible ‘sex changes’ – a path too often facilitated by school personnel who we entrusted with our children. We are proud to stand with President Trump and Secretary McMahon to hold school districts accountable and ensure no child is socially transitioned behind parent’s backs by teachers or administrators,” said Parents Defending Education founder Nicole Neily.

The DOE argued that the school’s refusal to disclose the “gender plans” violates FERPA, which grants parents the right to request records from schools relating to their own children and the right to control the disclosure of their children’s private information.

The DOE warned that regardless of state laws governing the treatment of children who identify as the opposite gender at school, Maine’s schools must comply with federal law. If the investigation reveals a violation of FERPA, the MDOE could face a complete termination of federal funding.

The DOE already ruled against Maine earlier this month, when an investigation, prompted by President Donald Trump’s executive order preventing males from competing in women’s sports, found the MDOE in violation of Title IX federal anti-discrimination laws.

Maine was already subject to a federal education funding loss on the basis of that violation, but Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine), the MDOE, and the Maine Principals’ Association have obstinately refused to comply and have vowed to take legal action against the administration rather than curtail radical gender ideology in K-12 public schools.