The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction has placed Washington’s federal funding at risk by defying federal privacy laws and the U.S. Constitution in pursuit of a partisan agenda

LA CENTER — State Superintendent Chris Reykdal recently issued a sharp partisan statement dismissing the U.S. Department of Education’s enforcement of parental rights as a “sham announcement” and “ideological propaganda.” Reykdal places blame for the resulting threat to state education funding squarely on the federal government, but La Center School District (LCSD) believes the record tells a different story. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has placed Washington’s federal funding at risk by defying federal privacy laws and the U.S. Constitution in pursuit of a partisan agenda.

Reykdal claims that Washington law “ensures that, when parents and families request information about their child from their child’s school, the school provides that information consistent with state and federal laws.” His own record tells a different story. For years, OSPI has wielded the state’s anti-discrimination laws to pressure school districts into withholding vital identity information from parents. These mandates force schools into the middle of family relationships, treating loving parents as presumed threats to their own children without due process.

The U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Education launched their investigations because OSPI’s secrecy mandates likely violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), and Title IX. The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent per curiam decision in Mirabelli v. Bonta reaffirmed that parents, not the state, hold primary authority over their children’s upbringing and mental health. It is Reykdal’s refusal to bring state directives into line with that precedent, not federal enforcement, that puts our schools at risk.

Reykdal has characterized the federal defense of parental rights as a “dangerous war” and argues that the government should not “force schools to play the role of parents.” Yet OSPI does precisely that when it directs schools to facilitate social transitions without parental knowledge. This priority on ideology over instruction comes at the expense of the fundamental work of schools: teaching students to read, write, and reason.

La Center School District believes transparency builds stronger cooperation between schools and families, and that cooperation serves every student’s best interest. We will not accept federal enforcement being used as cover for OSPI’s own overreach. We remain committed to partnering with the families who know and care for our students best, and we will not withhold student records to satisfy OSPI’s political directives.