DOJ probes 3 Mich. school districts for sex orientation, ideology instruction

Max Reinhart, The Detroit News on Feb 18, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether three public school districts in Michigan, including Detroit Public Schools Community District, have been teaching students about sexual orientation and gender ideology without parental consent.

The probe involves Detroit Public Schools Community District, Lansing School District and Godfrey-Lee Public Schools in the Grand Rapids area, the DOJ said Wednesday in a press release.

The DOJ sent letters to the districts on Wednesday, informing them of the investigation.

The department's Civil Rights Division is working to determine whether the districts included any content related to sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI) in any class pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, and whether schools notified parents about their right to opt their children out of such instruction.

“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 in the release. "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."

The DOJ also will assess whether the districts limit access to what they called "single-sex intimate spaces," including bathrooms and locker rooms.

"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," Dhillon said.

Officials haven't explained why the three districts under investigation were selected for scrutiny or whether authorities received any complaints about instructional content or single-sex spaces.

DPSCD spokesperson Chrystal Wilson declined to comment, saying the district is closed for mid-winter break and officials will review the DOJ's letter when classes resume Monday.

The Detroit News reached out to leaders and representatives for the two other school districts for information and comment. The requests were not immediately returned.

The DOJ said the districts, "which are recipients of hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer funding" could be found in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Supreme Court's 2025 decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which determined that public schools can’t require students to learn about gender and sexuality without parental consent.

The probe comes after the Michigan Board of Education in November passed new guidelines to help districts set curricula for a wide range of health topics, including gender identity and sexual orientation. The standards include subjects such as substance abuse, decision-making, balanced eating, mental and emotional health, and boundaries suggested for different grade levels.

State officials said the standards allow for parents to opt their children out of sex education, though conservatives pushed back fiercely against the new sex ed guidelines. Republican board member Nikki Snyder has said the standards are designed to "groom the public."

Democrat board members and liberal supporters said the updated standards, the state's first major update to health education guidelines since 2007, explain biological sex, gender expression and sexual orientation in such a way that supports all students, including LGBTQ+ students.

________