KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The U.S. Department of Education has launched an investigation of three Kansas City-area school districts after receiving a complaint from the Defense of Freedom Institute.
The USDOE’s Office for Civil Rights and Student Privacy Policy Office announced Thursday that they had initiated investigations of the Shawnee Mission, Olathe and Kansas City, Kansas, Public School Districts in the Kansas City area.
The Topeka Public School District was also named in the investigation.
Thursday’s announcement is an escalation of an ongoing battle between the school districts and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach.
Kobach has alleged since 2023 that the districts use gender identity to determine access to sports teams and locker rooms and that the districts “conceal from parents the ‘social transitioning’ of their children.”
In a news release Thursday, Kobach highlighted his June 24 letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, urging an investigation.
Kobach’s letter drew critical responses from officials in the Shawnee Mission and Olathe school districts, with the districts labeling Kobach’s efforts as a “publicity tactic” and as part of a “political agenda.”
In a statement to KSHB 41 News regarding the federal investigation, the district said it is "ready and willing to fully cooperate with these agencies, as we always have."
"As a district, it is always our practice to work directly and partner with families and students as situations arise to ensure we are providing the appropriate and necessary support," the district said Thursday. "To be absolutely clear, it is our expectation that staff work directly with families regarding student-related matters involving their own child(ren)."
"There have been no specific situations identified in the Olathe Public Schools related to the allegations outlined in the investigation letter," the district added."
A Shawnee Mission School District spokesperson said in a statement Thursday to KSHB 41 News that it is "committed to following the law, and are confident that our practices align with federal and state laws," and that the district "looks forward to being able to resolve the investigation in an expeditious manner."
Like Olathe, SMSD said it was "not aware of any parent of a transgender student" who had filed a complaint alleging a FERPA violation, or from any parent or student alleging a Title IX violation.
Also on June 24, officials with the Washington D.C.-based DFI also sent a letter to McMahon urging a review to determine if the districts were violating Title IX and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or FERPA.
“The Kansas districts’ alleged behavior of allowing gender ideology to run amok in their schools is an affront not only to the law, but to the sound judgment we expect from our educational leaders,” McMahon said in a press release on Thursday. “School personnel should not confuse and unsettle young girls by forcing them to share sex-separated sports and intimate facilities with boys; nor should school personnel abuse their position of authority by hiding sensitive information pertaining to a child’s health and well being from that child’s parents.”
KSHB reached out to spokespersons at the three Kansas City-area school districts for a response to the USDOE’s investigation. This story will be updated as they are received.
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