DOJ sues Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools over transgender guideline

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.

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The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, along with the U.S. attorney for the District of Kansas, filed what they call a "first-of-its-kind lawsuit" against Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools over the district's transgender guideline.

In a press release, the DOJ wrote the intent is "to stop the district from facilitating secret 'gender transitions' for children at school without their parents’ knowledge or consent."

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“This lawsuit should not come as a surprise," U.S. Attorney Ryan Kriegshauser said in a news release. "Public education functions effectively only when schools and parents engage in a genuine partnership. When schools withhold information from parents, they undermine trust and disrupt the essential balance between families and public educators."

The DOJ's release also claims the district's conduct violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), which concern parental rights. As such, the lawsuit is seeking an injunction to halt enforcement of the transgender guideline, "Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students Internal Guidance Document."

“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,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department will not tolerate school districts playing fast and loose with federal law in the service of radical gender ideology.”

This is the latest development in a months-long dispute between the district and DOJ.

In July, the DOJ first threatened to sue the district if it did not comply with a list of demands regarding its transgender guideline, which lists exceptions for when KCKPS would tell a student's parent about their child's transgender status.

In a July 31 interview, KCKPS Dr. Anna Stubblefield said the district has never had an instance she can recall where they've withheld this information from a parent.

"It also is not policy, it is guidance,” Stubblefield said. “And there's nowhere in the guidance where we say 'withhold information from parents.’ We have no reason or incentive to withhold information from parents about anything that they're entitled to for their students.”

KCKPS receives almost $70 million from the federal government and stands to lose this funding over the dispute.

A district spokesperson sent the following statement in response to KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson's request for comment.

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