The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools over its policies for transgender students, escalating a monthslong standoff and threat to withhold federal funding if the school district did not comply.
The lawsuit, which the department is calling “first-of-its-kind,” alleges the district “maintains policies that direct staff to help students socially transition to a different gender at school and to withhold this information from parents as confidential.”
The Justice Department argued this conduct violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, by interfering with parents’ right to review their children’s education records. It also alleged the school district violated the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.
“Parental rights are paramount in the operation of America’s public schools, and Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools does not know children better than their own parents,” Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. “The Department will not tolerate school districts playing fast and loose with federal law in the service of radical gender ideology.”
A spokesperson for Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools said in a statement that the district is following federal law.
“Contrary to the allegations in the Complaint, the district maintains that it is in full compliance with FERPA and PPRA and is disappointed by the DOJ’s decision to file the lawsuit,” a spokesperson said.
The school district said it will not comment further at this time because the issue is pending in federal court, and it will instead respond through the appropriate legal process.
Federal officials took issue in the lawsuit with school district policies that outline a process for transgender students or their parents to schedule a meeting with staff to go over topics including their preferred name, gender and pronouns.
If students want to exclude their parents or legal guardians from the planning meeting, the policy states the request will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The same applies to students who don’t want to share if they are transgender or gender-nonconforming with their parents or legal guardians.
The district will consider the student’s age, grade level and welfare, according to the policy included in the lawsuit.
Federal officials said the guideline “directs staff to develop and implement ‘transitioning’ plans for children’s so-called ‘gender identity’ without informing or obtaining consent from their parents.”
The lawsuit also alleges that in an undated recording, a district administrator referred to a “transgender guideline” that is not available to the school community and safeguarded by “gatekeepers.” Another employee allegedly talked about how to “support[] students whose culture is against the LGBTQIA relationships.”
With its lawsuit, the Department of Justice wants to stop the district from enforcing its guidelines for transgender students, and said the federal government has the power to sue to “enforce conditions imposed on the recipients of federal grants.”
The district faces losing more than $70 million in federal funding, or about 16% of its budget.
Superintendent Dr. Anna Stubblefield said in a KSHB interview that the 2017 document that the Department of Justice takes issue with was a report, and was never formally adopted as a policy. The department acknowledged in its lawsuit that the district’s school board never formally voted to adopt the document, but said the district’s current policy is similar.
Stubblefield told KSHB that the district evaluates each student on a case-by-case basis, and that the majority of students’ parents are already aware if their child is transgender.
Other Kansas school districts under federal scrutiny
Three other Kansas school districts have also faced scrutiny over their policies for transgender students, including the Shawnee Mission School District, Olathe Public Schools and Topeka Public Schools.
In April, the U.S. Department of Education said a monthslong investigation found the districts were violating federal law by allowing students to use restrooms and locker rooms and participate in athletic programs that align with their gender identity.
It also said districts’ policies allow schools to conceal children’s use of different pronouns or names at school, or having a different name printed on their diploma, from their parents.
The federal investigation followed a complaint from the Defense of Freedom Institute, a conservative nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. In June, the U.S. Department of Education notified the three districts that they had 10 calendar days to comply with the government’s proposed resolution agreements.
Last week, the Justice Department announced it had come to an agreement with Topeka Public Schools. The district will stop creating “student gender support plans” and allow parents to review any existing records.
The district also agreed to remove guidance that would allow schools to withhold information about students from their parents.
The department said it proposed similar agreements to Olathe Public Schools and the Shawnee Mission School District, but both refused to voluntarily comply.
A spokesperson for Olathe Public Schools said the district submitted a voluntary resolution agreement on May 8 to save taxpayer money and staff time, but the department rejected it. It refused to sign any further agreements, because it said there’s been no evidence of FERPA violations.
It said the district has never violated federal law regulating public schools, including FERPA.
“The unfortunate continuation of this drawn-out political display continues to rob time and resources from the work that matters most as a public school system: educating our children,” a spokesperson said. “Olathe Public Schools will continue to defend the integrity of its people and practices, and remains committed to serving students, supporting families, and complying with all applicable federal and state laws.”
The Shawnee Mission School District issued a similarly pointed statement in April denying it violated federal law and said it was prepared to defend its rights in court. Some school districts have sued to challenge similar threats from the education department.
