Feds give Ann Arbor Schools 14 days to fix alleged parental rights violations

The federal government has given Ann Arbor Public Schools 14 days from Sept. 14 to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, or risk losing federal funding.

“We urge Ann Arbor Public Schools to act promptly to ensure full compliance with federal law,” Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division for the U.S. Dept. of Justice, wrote in a letter to the district board and superintendent posted on social media Sept. 14.

Ann Arbor Public Schools prevented parents from accessing their child's records, violating parents’ rights under FERPA & PPRA. When revising the policy, a trustee admitted, "It doesn't mean we're changing anything. We're trying to be more clever than that." Clever won't cut it!🤨 pic.twitter.com/GxC5Gywa8U

— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) September 14, 2026

The Justice Dept. cited a July 25 letter it sent to tell the district that Ann Arbor Public Schools’ policy on transgender and gender nonconforming students violates federal mandates to provide parents with full access to students’ education records.

In August 2026, the school district said it had revised its policies.

Dhillon’s September letter said that the Department of Education “determined that the revised language does not result in a substantive change to the original policy.”

The federal education department cited comments from an August 26 school board meeting.

“Board President Torchio Feaster said ‘Obviously if we’re changing the substance of the policy, rather than just changing the wording and clarifying things, then I might have more of a problem.’”

The September letter also quoted Equity Trustee Chair Susan Schmidt, who reportedly said, “It doesn’t mean we’re changing anything. We’re trying to be more clever than that.”

The school district has received the latest letter, AAPS Director of Communications Andrew Cluley told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email.

“Ann Arbor Public Schools has received correspondence from the U.S. Department of Justice regarding Board Policy 5011,” Cluley wrote. “The District takes both its obligations under federal law and its responsibility to its students and families seriously, and is reviewing the correspondence carefully with legal counsel. The District remains committed to protecting the privacy, safety, and well-being of every student, while complying with federal law.”