The US Department of Justice has opened investigations into three Michigan public school districts to examine whether queer content is being taught and whether religious parents are permitted to opt their children out. The department named Detroit Public Schools Community District, Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, and Lansing School District. The inquiries will assess if material described by the DOJ as sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI) content appears in pre-K through 12th-grade classes, whether parents were notified of opt-out rights, and whether access to single-sex spaces is restricted based on biological sex.
Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said, “This Department of Justice is fiercely committed to ending the growing trend of local school authorities embedding sexuality and gender ideology in every aspect of public education.” The DOJ also cited Title IX, the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs. The Trump administration has argued that sex under Title IX refers solely to biological sex, a position critics say undermines transgender-inclusive policies.
The investigations follow the 2025 Supreme Court ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which held that schools must allow religious parents to opt their children out of content acknowledging LGBTQ+ people. The decision stemmed from a dispute involving Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland over LGBTQ+-themed storybooks.
