On October 26, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) Student Privacy Policy Office announced that it is investigating three California school districts over activities related to required ethnic studies courses. The curriculum at all three school districts included “Wheel of Power/Privilege” or “Mapping My Identities” activities or both, according to the USDE, which described the curriculum as “invasive questionnaires” and therefore subject to the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). That law requires schools to notify parents and obtain their written consent before surveying students on topics that would reveal protected information. Under the second Trump administration, student privacy laws including PPRA have been increasingly used to crack down on activities related to supporting LGBTQ+ students.
In its announcement, the USDE said that the ethnic studies course activities “require students to identify personal information such as their sexual orientations, gender identities, mental and physical health conditions, family economic status, race, and more.”
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