On July 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office opened an investigation into this complaint. View the Department’s full press release here.
On July 27, 2026, Defending Education filed a complaint against the state of Minnesota with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice. DE claims the state is breaking the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), a federal law that protects student privacy and parents’ rights when schools question or evaluate students on sensitive topics. DE also claims the state is violating the First and Fourteenth Amendments, which protect parents’ right to direct how their children are raised and educated.
According to news reports, the MyGender Dolls program, created at the University of Minnesota with taxpayer funds, will give students ages 4 to 10 access to transgender dolls with “removable internal and external genitals” and “more than 100 interchangeable pieces of clothing, accessories and hairstyles—like a trans Mr./Mrs. Potato Head.” The My Gender Dolls website says the dolls will be available to school counselors, educators, mental health providers, pediatricians, and others. Minnesota parents in Defending Education’s network have not been told about the program, and DE knows of no notice sent to any Minnesota parents or school board members. As the New York Post notes, “[i]t is not known if parents” at schools using the dolls “will be able to opt out of” the program.
Under the PPRA, federally funded schools may not require students “to submit to a survey, analysis, or evaluation” that draws out information about their “sex, behavior, or attitudes” or any “mental or psychological problems.” Schools must also notify parents in advance, let them “inspect” what is collected, and tell them they can opt their children out.
In Mirabelli v. Bonta and Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Supreme Court recently confirmed that the Constitution protects “parents’ rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children,” and that those rights “follow … children into the public school classroom.” The program also appears to conflict with at least three executive orders on gender identity (14168, 14187, and 14190).
Defending Education urges the Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office and the Department of Justice to quickly investigate Minnesota for these apparent violations of federal law.
Read the full complaint below:
