S. 2702 — Empower Parents to Protect their Kids Act of 2025

This section states six congressional findings asserting that certain school district policies on student gender identity—such as changing names, pronouns, or facility use without parental knowledge or consent—violate parents' constitutional and statutory rights to direct their children's upbringing and education; that such practices, often secret and influenced by teachers unions and activists, lead to increased likelihood of medical interventions with irreversible effects; and that Executive Order 14190 (Jan. 29, 2025) directs enforcement of parental rights protections in federally funded K-12 education.

This section conditions federal funding for elementary and secondary schools on compliance with requirements applicable to students under 18 years of age, including definitions of "female," "male," and "sex" based on biological reproductive systems; "gender transition"; and "designated violation." Schools must (1) obtain express parental consent before providing accommodations affirming a student's purported identity incongruent with the student's sex (including referrals for gender transition procedures), (2) refrain from facilitating, encouraging, or coercing students to withhold such information from parents, (3) disclose to parents any relevant information about a student's discomfort with, desire to change, or profession of an identity incongruent with the student's sex, and (4) refrain from encouraging, pressuring, or coercing parents or students to pursue gender-affirming interventions. Federal agencies must require state and local educational agencies applying for funds to describe compliance steps, provide school policies to the agency and families, and post policies publicly online. This section authorizes civil actions by the U.S. Attorney General or affected parents or guardians against violating schools or governmental entities for injunctive relief, declaratory relief, attorney's fees, and costs (including for treatments to repair harm from gender transition), without exhausting administrative remedies; it permits school employees to report imminent physical safety threats based on reasonable suspicion of child abuse as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1169 (i.e., certain physical injuries or sexual abuse of children in Indian country) and preserves parental rights with due process.