The U.S. Department of Education opened a federal investigation into a Massachusetts school district after reports that staff allegedly treated a girl as a boy at school — a new name and pronouns — without telling her parents. That is an investigation, not a finding that the district broke the law.
On September 17, 2026, the Department’s Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) launched a probe of the Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough. ED says it is determining whether the district violated the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) — federal rules on student records and on parent consent before certain surveys or evaluations about a child’s mental health or sex.
ED’s press release attributes this to the parents: staff at Algonquin Regional High School helped facilitate their daughter’s so-called “social transition” without informing them; counseling after school was presented as math help; staff used a male name and pronouns without the parents’ knowledge; and a counselor later reported the family to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF). ED says DCF removed the child from the home in December 2024 and that the family is in custody litigation. Those are the parents’ allegations as ED reports them — not findings by SPPO.
The official Education Department account posted the same day: after reports that school officials allegedly facilitated a “gender transition” of a child without parental consent, ED launched the investigation “to determine whether the district violated federal law.” SPPO Director Frank Miller said parents have a right to know what is happening with their children at school, and that it is currently unclear whether the school and district complied with FERPA and PPRA.
Superintendent Gregory Martineau has publicly denied the school claims. In a statement to WCVB, the district called the allegations “not merely baseless but grossly insensitive,” and local reporting says the district will cooperate. Governor Maura Healey has said DCF removed the child after criminal charges, not for what she called a “gender-affirming care issue.” The parents dispute the abuse allegations.
Primary sources
- U.S. Department of Education press release, Sept. 17, 2026
- U.S. Department of Education on X (@usedgov), Sept. 17, 2026
Local reporting on the family’s account and the district’s denial: WCVB and our earlier story, /news/massachusetts-kutzko-dcf-lighthouse-faith-2026.