Detroit Public Schools under DOJ investigation over alleged gender ideology teachings

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Detroit public schools and two other districts in Michigan are under investigation by the Department of Justice for what they say was including sexual orientation and gender ideology in their classes.

What they're saying:

Detroit Public Schools joins Godfrey-Lee Public Schools and the Lansing School District in the investigation that looks into whether they have included sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI) content in any class for grades pre-K-12.

The DOJ said if the districts are teaching content that involves SOGI, they will examine if the schools notified parents of their choice to opt children out of the lesson. Meanwhile, federal officials say the investigation will assess whether the districts limit access to single-sex spaces, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, based on someone's biological sex.

"Supreme Court precedent is clear: parents have the right to direct the religious upbringing of their children, which includes exempting them from ideological instruction which conflicts with their families’ sincerely held religious beliefs," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. "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."

What's next:

The investigations, according to the DOJ, are adhering to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor.

Meanwhile, they say the Civil Rights Division has not reached a conclusion the investigations.