'I think context matters': KCKPS superintendent defends district amid federal threat

KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Send Rachel an e-mail at Rachel.henderson@kshb.com.

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools superintendent responded to a Department of Justice threat to sue the district over its transgender guideline, with less than a week to comply with federal demands.

The district is at risk of losing almost $70 million in federal funds.

"I think context matters," Superintendent Dr. Anna Stubblefield said.

Al Miller/KSHB 41

The DOJ sent the district a letter on Monday threatening to sue if KCKPS continues to enforce its transgender guideline.

The letter references a social media video taken of a meeting with school administrators.

On Monday, I spoke with people on both sides of this issue.

Stubblefield said the 2017 document at the center of the dispute was a report, not a policy.

It’s titled ‘Guidelines for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students at School.’

Online, it’s dated October 31, 2016, but can be found on later 2017 meeting agendas, but was never formally adopted as a concrete policy.

"It was a report that was given based off of what was happening at that time around federal guidelines and state laws regarding what are the options to support transgender students,” Stubblefield said. “It didn't go anywhere.”

She said the meeting captured in the video was not an attempt to circumvent the law.

"The meeting was not about how to usurp any laws or do anything to not follow laws and regulations," Stubblefield said.

The district said the meeting involved an adult advocacy group that had been in place for about five years.

When the district had a DEI department, it provided support or resources to that group.

Stubblefield said not all participants were district employees, and that the meeting took place after work hours.

District staff intended to inform the group that, due to changes in federal regulations, the district could no longer provide support in that manner.

The meeting lasted about an hour.

The district said it did not record the meeting and does not have a tape of it.

"We don't own the recording, I don't know where the recording came from," Stubblefield said.

She says the meeting took place “well over a year ago” and that the district did not record it.

The video called the district's transparency into question, since the district had not made the transgender guidance public.

As of Friday, it is still not on the district’s website.

Stubblefield pushed back on that characterization.

"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.”

The district shared the document, which states KCKPS reports a student's transgender status to their parents on a case-by-case basis, but that the information should be reported to the school principal “without delay.”

Stubblefield reiterated that the district has never had a policy on the matter.

"When they say we have a policy, we've never had a policy," Stubblefield said.

She said the district's approach is rooted in student safety.

"The laws may have changed, but students still show up as their full selves, so we have to make sure they have to navigate school in a safe way,” Stubblefield said. “That doesn't in any way mean or imply that we're withholding information from parents.”

Stubblefield said the current guidance has been in place since she became superintendent five years ago.

"Majority of the time, the parent is coming to the school to say, 'this is my student, this is who they are,' what can be put in place so that feel safe and supported?" Stubblefield said. "Majority of the students, their parents are fully aware, and their parents are informing us.”

According to the district, there are five situations in which the district would not disclose a student's transgender status to a parent:

• The student is 18 years old and no longer a minor
• The student has been emancipated
• Parental rights have been terminated or otherwise limited by a judicial order
• There is an active law enforcement or DCF investigation into abuse or neglect by the parent
• There is reason to suspect abuse or neglect by the parent, mandating a referral to DCF

Stubblefield said the district has asked clarifying questions and requested additional information from the DOJ, and that legal counsel is navigating the responses they have received.

The district is also negotiating between the Office for Civil Rights and the Department of Justice, and is investigating any abuse claims that have come up in board meetings in conjunction with public comments about the policy dispute.

The federal funds at risk are Title funds designated for low-income families and multilingual learners.

Stubblefield said losing that money would directly impact students.

“[We’re] very concerned,” Stubblefield said. “That money is how we provide the additional things our students need.”

The district says it plans to respond before the DOJ's August 4 deadline.

"We have respectfully disagreed with the things we are being accused of, and we have asked how do we navigate this and resolve this, and what does that look like?" Stubblefield said. "We absolutely don't want to lose the funding, yet we also don't want to admit to something that we didn't do.”

Al Miller/KSHB 41

Stubblefield said the dispute has been a drain on district resources, but has not slowed its work.

"It is very time-consuming, but yet we still have to do the things that we signed up to do which is to provide a safe, engaging educational environment for our students and our staff," Stubblefield said.

She also reflected on the broader climate around public education.

"How people view public education and what it should look like has shifted,” Stubblefield said. “And with that, I'm not sure why certain districts are navigating this and others aren’t.”

She doesn’t want the district’s accomplishment to be overshadowed by the negative claims surfacing.

Stubblefield shared that the district's graduation rate is the highest it has been since graduation rates have been recorded, with 84% of students graduating with a Diploma+.

The district has developed a strategic plan for 100% of students to graduate with a Diploma+ distinction by 2031.

"We're putting systems in place that will live beyond those who are here now so that the outcomes for students are what we desire, and a lot of other noise just started to happen around it," Stubblefield said.

The district's first day of school is August 14.

Stubblefield said the board has been kept aware of the situation.

She added that the district is also balancing declining enrollment and budget constraints.

"We take this very seriously, and we do want to resolve the issue," Stubblefield said.

KSHB 41 reached out to the DOJ for a response, but has yet to hear back as of Friday evening.

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