Full Breakdown
Trump Administration Suppresses Gender-Identity Data in Federal School Survey
9/5/2026, 4:10:17 AM
Data Suppression in the 2023-2024 Civil Rights Data Collection
The U.S. The executive order, signed by President Donald Trump on his inauguration day, directs the federal government to define sex strictly as male or female. As a result, data on nonbinary student enrollment, harassment or bullying based on gender identity, and district policies addressing such harassment were omitted. The survey, which had previously listed “nonbinary” alongside male and female, still gathered responses from roughly 1,800 of the more than 13,000 public-school districts that reported on transgender and nonbinary students in the prior collection.
Background and Prior Efforts
The CRDC is a near-comprehensive federal survey that tracks discipline, bullying, advanced-course access and other equity indicators in U.S. public schools. Under the Biden administration, the 2021-2022 release included a detailed report highlighting racial disparities in teacher certification and advanced-math access. Preparations for the 2023-2024 data collection began during that administration, marking one of the most extensive attempts to capture the experiences of transgender and nonbinary students.
Official Statements & Responses
No formal announcement accompanied the data release; the only indication was a new row on the department’s data-tables page.
What’s Next
The Education Department has signaled that more data will be made available in the coming weeks, though no timeline or detailed report has been provided. Stakeholders and researchers await further clarification on how, if at all, the suppressed information will be restored for future analysis.
