Parents have made headlines arguing that sexualized content is inappropriate in the public schools. Yet it has seemed that the more parents have pushed back, the more the content has flooded into schools.

When the Biden Administration took office and revised Title IX to include gender identity and sexual orientation—which encompasses bathroom and locker use in accordance with identity and orientation over biology—many schools cemented the ruling into their policies. Moms for Liberty initiated a lawsuit to fight back. Schools were included in the lawsuit only when parents requested their districts be included. The lawsuit appeared to offer a modicum of protection from added mandates.

Then the Trump Administration came into office and returned Title IX back to its original intent by removing the gender identity and sexual orientation language. Schools were slow to extract the Biden Administration language from their policies, deleting it from some but not others.

On November 13, 2025, the State Board of Education passed its own revision, revising the Michigan Health Standards to require instruction on “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” “gender diversity,” and “gender expression” in health and sex education curriculum for sixth grade on up. The addition is optional in other subjects.

The revised health standards appear to be in direct opposition to the Trump Administration’s revised Title IX , the January 2025 Executive Order “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government (which recognizes there are two genders), and the Supreme Court case of Mahmoud v. Taylor , 2025 (which protects parents’ right to raise their children according to their religious beliefs). Even with the apparent conflict, the revisions were rolled out to local school districts.

Parents in opposition of the new health standards seemed left with either hoping their districts wouldn’t adopt the revisions or pulling their kids out of the system.

Until now.

The DOJ Steps In

As of February 18, three Michigan school districts are being investigated—Detroit Public Schools Community District, Lansing School District and Godfrey-Lee Public Schools—one on the east side of the state, one in the middle, and one here on the west side in Wyoming—only thirty minutes from Ottawa County.

The schools are being investigated to “determine whether they have included sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI) content in any class for grades pre-K-12.” If the content has been taught, the DOJ will then examine whether parents were notified in advance of their right to opt their children out of the instruction.

Additionally, the investigation will assess whether bathrooms and locker rooms limit access based on biological sex.

In the press release from the Department of Justice announcing the investigations, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, states: “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.”

“Supreme Court precedent is clear: parents have the right to direct the religious upbringing of their children," Dhillon continues, "which includes exempting them from ideological instruction which conflicts with their families’ sincerely held religious beliefs. And 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.”

No Explicit Stone Left Unturned

The letter sent to the Superintendent of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools requests that the district provide the materials listed below from September 1, 2023, forward for grades preK-12 and to include all communication providing advance notification to parents and guardians and opt out opportunities to be examined.

• First the district was asked for anything policy related—codes of conduct, handbooks, protocols, etc.,—pertaining not only to health or sex education but also any other policies, etc., that include "sex," "human reproduction," "human sexuality," "sexual orientation," "gender identity," "gender diversity," "gender spectrum," "gender expression," "gender fluidity," "gender nonconformity," "transitioning" or "LGBTQIA+".

(As previously reported by The Hollander, public schools in Ottawa County continue to list gender identity and sexual orientation language in their policies.)

• Next, the district is asked to submit every document from every class—to include slideshows, presentations, imagery, posters, signage, recordings, handouts, notes, and drafts—referring or relating to ""sex," "human reproduction," "human sexuality," "genitalia," "sexual orientation," "gender identity," "gender diversity," "gender spectrum," "gender expression," "gender fluidity," "gender nonconformity," "hormone blockers," "puberty blockers," "transitioning," or "LGBTQIA+."

• With regard to the revised Michigan Health Standards, the DOJ asked for a submission of anywhere those revisions were contemplated or approved to be implemented and how parents were notified.

(Did parents in Ottawa County whose districts adopted the revised standards receive notification and opt-out opportunity?)

• Also on the list was for Godfrey-Lee to send every document from every class—to include curricula, syllabi, lesson plans,  reading lists, manuals, textbooks (student and teacher editions), story books, picture books, library books, class materials, classwork, homework assignments, quizzes, tests, exams, assessments, questionnaires, surveys, and drafts thereof—referring or relating to "sex," "human reproduction,"  "human sexuality," "genitalia," "sexual orientation," "gender identity," "gender diversity," "gender spectrum," "gender expression," "gender fluidity," "gender nonconformity," "hormone blockers," "puberty blockers," 'transitioning," "queer culture," or "LGBTQIA+."

(The books in classroom libraries are what brought many parents to school board meetings to object to the sexualized content. Have Ottawa County schools removed the books parents found to be inappropriate?)

• The DOJ asked for a detailed spreadsheet of every outing, conference, assembly, initiative, celebration, recognition, award, certificate, "awareness" event, "visibility" event, "advocacy" event, or other event or program, club, support group, organization, extracurricular program or activity, etc., whether in-school or after-school, referring or relating to "sex," "human reproduction," "human sexuality," "sexual orientation," "gender identity," "gender diversity," "gender spectrum," "gender expression," "gender fluidity," "gender nonconformity," "transitioning," "queer culture," "LGBTQIA+," "Pride Month," "Pride Week," "drag queen," or "drag performer."

• Teacher education was not excluded. Godfrey-Lee must submit a list of workshops, curricula, class materials, guest speakers, lecture series, task forces, initiatives, partnerships, associations, alliances, best practice recommendations, model policies, reports, white papers, teacher or staff training, professional development, technical assistance, capacity building, or other programming or support referring or relating to health or sex education, "sex," "human reproduction," "human sexuality," "sexual  orientation," "gender identity," "gender diversity," "gender spectrum," "gender expression," "gender fluidity," "gender nonconformity," "transitioning," "queer culture," or "LGBTQIA+."

(What are the topics of the professional development Ottawa County teachers receive? The Winter Conference put on by the Michigan Education Association—which supplies the majority of the professional development offered—lists several sessions that include gender ideology.)

• Parents will be heard in this investigation as well. Also requested is every single inquiry, request, notice, report, complaint, charge, or legal proceeding on the basis of or that could relate to health or sex education, "sex," "human reproduction," "human sexuality," "genitalia," "sexual orientation," "gender identity," "gender diversity," "gender spectrum," "gender expression," "gender fluidity," "gender nonconformity," "transitioning," "queer culture," "LGBTQIA+," "Pride Month," "Pride Week," "drag queen," "drag performer," or the Michigan Standards, including, but not limited to, complaints regarding sex-segregated bathrooms, locker rooms, sports teams, and overnight trips.

(It seems schools should supply public comments given by parents, which have included complaints of sexualized materials and bathroom use not following biology.)

• Last of all, the district must forward the name and contact information of all members of the Sex Education Advisory Board.

(Who is on the SEABs in Ottawa County? Are the members aware that if an investigation comes to their school, they could be questioned for their decisions regarding sexual content?)

Comply or Lose Funding

If Godfrey-Lee resembles the schools in Ottawa County, gathering the volume of materials that has been accumulated likely will be no small task. And they’ve only been given until April 6 to do it.

And yes, there is a consequence for not complying. Godfrey-Lee and the other two schools being investigated stand to lose federal funding.

With the example being made of neighboring Godfrey-Lee, will Ottawa County schools heed the warning and begin ridding the shelves of the content parents have been objecting to over the last several years, perhaps even switching to an opt-in parental permission model?