US Justice Department Probes Schools Over LGBTQ+ Lessons

The United States Department of Justice has opened civil rights investigations into three Michigan school districts, examining whether students are being taught material referencing LGBTQ+ people and whether parents are given the option to withdraw their children on religious grounds.

The inquiry targets Detroit Public Schools Community District, Godfrey-Lee Public Schools and Lansing School District.

Federal officials say they will review whether so-called “sexual orientation and gender ideology” content appears in classes from pre-kindergarten through to Year 12, and whether families are properly notified about opt-out rights.

The probe will also look at school policies governing access to bathrooms and other single-sex facilities.

Investigations over LGBTQ+ lessons in schools without parent consent to withdraw

Announcing the move, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the department was focused on what it views as parental rights in education.

“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,” she said.

Dhillon added that “Supreme Court precedent is clear: parents have the right to direct the religious upbringing of their children,” including removing students from lessons they believe conflict with their faith.

The investigations follow a major 2025 US Supreme Court ruling, Mahmoud v. Taylor, which found schools must allow religious opt-outs from classroom materials acknowledging LGBTQ+ identities.

The case stemmed from a dispute in Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools after inclusive storybooks such as Pride Puppy! and Uncle Bobby’s Wedding were added to primary school curricula.

When the district later withdrew its opt-out system, several religious families sued. In a 6–3 judgment, the court ruled the decision imposed an “unconstitutional burden on the parents’ rights to the free exercise of their religion,” according to Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion.

The legal shift has since been embraced by US President Donald Trump, who called the decision “a great ruling for parents” and “a tremendous victory”.

The Michigan investigations arrive amid a broader push by the administration to reinterpret Title IX, the federal anti-discrimination law covering education, as applying strictly to biological sex, a stance critics warn could undermine protections for transgender students.