DOJ investigates whether schools taught about LGBTQ+ people without letting parents opt-outhttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/02/doj-investigates-whether-schools-taught-about-lgbtq-people-without-letting-parents-opt-out/ 🔗Daniel Villarreal (19 Feb 2026)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday its investigation into three Michigan school districts — Lansing, Detroit Public, and Godfrey-Lee Public — to see whether parents were given their right to opt their students out of learning so-called "sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI) content" in pre-K-12 classes.
The DOJ is "fiercely committed to ending the growing trend of local school authorities embedding sexuality and gender ideology in every aspect of public education," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon wrote in a statement about the DOJ's investigation.
Dhillon's statement specifically referenced Mahmoud v. Taylor, the 2025 Supreme Court decision, which said that schools must allow religious parents to opt their children out of any lessons acknowledging that LGBTQ+ people exist.
The court agreed with the parents' claim that their First Amendment rights were violated when schools used books that included LGBTQ+ characters. The existence of queer people contradicts some parents' religious beliefs and, thus, violates their First Amendment right to direct their children's religious upbringing, the court said.
Free speech and LGBTQ+ advocates denounced the court's ruling, saying that it forces public schools to exempt students from any lessons at all that don't align with their families' personal religious or cultural beliefs, including public education on wide-ranging topics like Earth Day, critical thinking, and anti-drug programs.
