Federal government sues Kansas school district, accusing it of secretly transitioning children

TOPEKA — The federal government accused the Kansas City, Kansas, public school district of secretly transitioning children’s gender identity at school without their parents’ knowledge or consent in a lawsuit filed Tuesday. 

The lawsuit says district policies keep information from parents, such as when a child chooses to go by another name or gender while at school. 

“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 DOJ said in its court filing.

The court action, filed in Kansas District Court, said the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools district of violating two federal laws, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.

Both laws are “designed to safeguard parental rights, including the rights to access and oversee information collected and maintained about their children in public schools,” a U.S. Department of Justice news release said. 

The release said the U.S. Department of Education made “extensive efforts” to reach a resolution with the school district so it would comply with federal law before filing the lawsuit.  

The school district said in a statement it is in compliance with the law. 

“Because this matter is now pending in federal court, the district will respond to the Complaint through the appropriate legal process and will not make any further comment at this time,” the statement added. 

The lawsuit provoked anger on social media from both sides of the issue. 

Erik Murray, a Kansas City businessman, recently ran and lost the Democratic nomination to run against U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall. Murray posted on Facebook, calling the lawsuit “a war on education.”

“This is a war on teachers and children. This is a war on poor people,” he wrote. “This is a war on the only majority minority County in this State. This is cruelty, and hatred, and bigotry on display.” 

Senate President Ty Masterson, Republican candidate for governor, said the lawsuit is what happens when “common sense gets thrown out the window.”

“Schools do not know children better than their parents,” Masterson posted. “They should not be keeping secrets from mom and dad, and they certainly shouldn’t be making deeply personal decisions behind their backs.”

The lawsuit shouldn’t be a surprise to the district, said Ryan Kriegshauser, U.S. attorney for the District of Kansas. 

“Public education functions effectively only when schools and parents engage in a genuine partnership,” he said in the news release. “When schools withhold information from parents, they undermine trust and disrupt the essential balance between families and public educators.”

In April, the DOJ said four Kansas school districts were in violation of federal civil rights protections — Olathe, Shawnee Mission, Topeka and Kansas City, Kansas. Reasons included allowing students to change their name or pronouns used at school without clear communication to parents and allowing transgender students to use restrooms, locker rooms and changing rooms that align with their gender identity.

Last week, the DOJ announced it would take enforcement action against Shawnee Mission and Olathe school districts. 

Topeka accepted resolution agreements with the Department of Education and the Olathe district signed a “voluntary resolution agreement” in May outlining the district’s commitment to giving students access to gender-specific facilities “strictly on the basis of sex.” The agreement was rejected by the Education Department. 

Shawnee Mission spokesman Jake Potter said the district’s last direct communication with the Department of Education was Aug. 11, when the department acknowledged receipt of a letter the district sent. 

In that letter, the district denied that its policies violated federal regulations and refused to accept a resolution proposed by the Department of Education.