US Education Department Probes Minnesota Over Gender-Neutral Dolls

The U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into the Minnesota Department of Education following a complaint from the advocacy group Defending Ed. The probe, conducted by the Student Privacy Policy Office, examines whether the use of "MyGender Dolls"—paper characters with interchangeable internal and external genitalia for children as young as four—violates the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment by denying parents notification and opt-out rights.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon characterized the dolls as "perverted ideologies" and warned that the administration could strip federal funding or refer the matter to the Department of Justice if parental rights were infringed. She stated that the department will enforce the law to its fullest extent to ensure parents remain the primary decision-makers in their children's education.

Both the Minnesota Department of Education and Governor Tim Walz denied any involvement in the project, asserting the dolls will not be implemented in K-12 public schools. The University of Minnesota clarified that while faculty and students developed the dolls through privately funded competitions, the resulting entity, MyGender Dolls LLC, is a private company not affiliated with the university. Researchers noted the dolls are therapeutic tools intended for licensed professionals and clinicians rather than general classroom instruction.