Texas AG: Schools must disclose all student information to parents

AUSTIN — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in an opinion released Tuesday that schools and districts do not have the ability to withhold student health or medical information from parents under Title IX.

In a request for opinion sent in early May, state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, questioned whether Texas school districts, including their officers and employees, were withholding medical or health information about a minor child from parents or guardians. He said some school districts cited Title IX and Texas Association of School Boards articles as reasons to withhold information.

Cain said some school districts, school officials and school staff were “doing everything they can to flout the law.”

“As you are well aware, parental rights are under attack across the country. And sadly, the ideology that the government, not parents, knows what’s best for children has infiltrated our schools in Texas,” Briscoe said in his request.

In his opinion, Paxton agreed that Texas and federal law mandates that parents have the right to access all educational information about their children, including health records. Should school districts fail to provide the information, they could be subject to civil liabilities and funding ramifications, he said. 

“An educational agency or institution which denies or prevents parents or legal guardians of its students from inspecting and reviewing the education records of their children in violation of (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) may not receive federal funding,” the opinion says.

Title IX prohibits educational institutions from discriminating against students on the basis of sex. But it doesn’t authorize a school district to withhold medical or health information about a minor child from the child’s parent or legal guardian, Paxton said.

“Parents possess a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care, custody and control of their child, and school districts and officials must work in partnership with parents in furtherance of the child’s education,” the opinion says. “Failing to work with parents and provide requested information about a student could subject the school district to legal challenges, civil liability and financial loss.”

This is not the first time the state has threatened school districts with lawsuits and funding restrictions. In September, Paxton sued several school districts for implementing masking requirements amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The opinion also comes as Republicans nationwide have pushed for “parental rights” across several subjects, including how race, gender and sexuality are taught in classrooms.

Texas also has been embattled in legal proceedings over whether parents and health care providers helping transgender children with gender-affirming care constitutes child abuse. The Texas Supreme Court ruled last week that investigations into those cases can continue, but that the Department of Family Protective Services would need permission to take action in a case. The merits of the case — whether state-ordered child abuse investigations into transgender care violate families’ rights — remain in question.

“Chapter 26 of the Education Code expressly provides that parents are entitled to the health information of their child, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act grants parents the right to inspect and review the education records of their children, including health information,” Paxton’s opinion says.

Advocates on behalf of school districts could not be immediately reached for comment.