Detroit → The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that its Civil Rights Division has launched formal investigations into three Michigan public school districts over concerns related to sexual orientation and gender identity instruction in pre-K through 12th grade classrooms.
The districts under review are Detroit Public Schools Community District, Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, and Lansing School District.
According to the DOJ, the investigations will determine whether the districts have incorporated sexual orientation and gender identity, often referred to as SOGI content, into classroom instruction. If such material is being taught, federal officials will examine whether parents were properly notified of their right to opt their children out of that instruction.
The probe will also assess whether the districts restrict access to single-sex spaces, including bathrooms and locker rooms, based on biological sex.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said the department is focused on what it described as parental rights and compliance with federal law.
“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,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
In a statement, Dhillon referenced Supreme Court precedent affirming parents’ authority over their children’s religious upbringing and cited Title IX protections regarding sex-based accommodations in schools.
“Supreme Court precedent is clear: parents have the right to direct the religious upbringing of their children, which includes exempting them from ideological instruction which conflicts with their families’ sincerely held religious beliefs. And Title IX demands that we guard the safety, dignity, and innocence of our youngest citizens—our children—by ensuring that they have unfettered access to bathrooms and locker rooms of their biological sex.”
The Justice Department specifically cited compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as well as the 2025 Supreme Court decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor.
Federal officials emphasized that the investigations are ongoing and that no conclusions have been reached regarding whether the districts violated federal law.
The three districts receive federal funding, placing them under Title IX jurisdiction. The outcome of the investigations could carry significant implications for district policies related to curriculum transparency, parental notification procedures, and access to gender-segregated facilities.
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