ROCKVILLE, Md. — A nonprofit law firm founded by current and former staffers of President Donald Trump have filed a federal complaint with the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice against Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).
America First Legal (AFL), which was co-founded by current White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, alleges the Maryland school district is in violation of the U.S. Constitution's First and Fourteenth Amendments as it relates to their so called "gender identity policies."
The organization centers their complaint around a 2025-2026 handbook titled “Gender Identity in Montgomery County Public Schools.”
According to AFL, the handbook in question "establishes a systematic policy of facilitating students social gender transitions — including changes to names, pronouns, school records, bathroom and locker room access, and overnight field trip sleeping arrangements — while actively concealing this information from parents."
In calling for an investigation, AFL cites a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling against similar policies in the State of California.
“Montgomery County Public Schools has constructed an elaborate system designed to keep parents in the dark about some of the most consequential decisions affecting their own children,” said Ian Prior, Senior Counsel at America First Legal. “Federal law and the Constitution are unambiguous: parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children and to access their children’s education records. MCPS’s policies turn both of those principles on their head.”
MCPS has not responded to our request for comment.
It's not the first time the district's policies have been called into question over such matters.
In April of 2025 MCPS was the subject of a Supreme Court battle where they tried denying parents the right to opt their kids out of reading books on LGBTQIA+ related topics inside the classroom.
The justices ultimately sided with student parents on the matter.
AFL's complaint can be read below.
