The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas sued Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS), claiming the district facilitated secret “gender transitions” for children without notifying the parents.
“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 Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon 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.”
The DOJ alleges the district violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (“PPRA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1232h.
According to the complaint, KCPS has kept policies on how to deal with students who insist they are “transgender” or “gender non-conforming” since 2017.
It all started on September 18, 2017, when the district published the guidance document Kansas City Kansas Public Schools Guidelines for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students at School. The district never formally voted to adopt the document.
However, the district also implemented a similar policy named USD 500 Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students Internal Guidance Document (emphasis mine):
A student or a student’s parent or legal guardian should contact the school principal if a student is transgender or gender non-conforming and the student or the student’s parent or legal guardian are seeking any related accommodations. If any staff member learns a student is transgender or gender non-conforming, that information should be relayed to the school principal without delay. The school principal should discuss available accommodations and resources with the student or the student’s parent or legal guardian, including the availability of a planning meeting. If it becomes known that the student does not want the student’s parent or legal guardian included at this stage, that request will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Such requests will be evaluated by the Executive Director of Student Services & Family Support, Director of Student Support Programs, Executive Director of Equity & Inclusion, and the district’s attorney. When reviewing the request, the district will consider the student’s age, the student’s grade level, the student’s welfare based on the information available to the district at that time, and any other relevant information.
The document includes parents/legal guardians as the people who “may be present” at the planning meeting. In other words…not required (emphasis mine):
If the student asks to exclude the student’s parent(s)/legal guardian(s) from the school planning meeting, that request will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Likewise, if the student does not want his or her transgender or gender non-conforming status disclosed to the student’s parent(s)/legal guardian(s), that request will also be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Such requests will be evaluated by the Executive Director of Student Services & Family Support, Director of Student Support Programs, Executive Director of Equity & Inclusion, and the district’s attorney. When reviewing the request, the district will consider the student’s age, the student’s grade level, the student’s welfare based on the information available to the district at that time, and any other relevant information.
Yeah, the District does not have to alert parents or legal guardians at all during the process.
The District doesn’t even give the parents or legal guardians an opportunity to challenge any “Gender Plan.”
“For decades, schools operated with little accountability as federal parental rights laws like FERPA and PPRA went unenforced, allowing some districts to cut parents out of deeply personal matters involving their own children,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “That era is over. The Trump Administration is enforcing these laws at an unprecedented scale and making clear that schools cannot hide sensitive information from parents and expect to operate with impunity. We are grateful to the Department of Justice for taking this next step and for its continued partnership with the Department of Education to enforce federal law and protect the fundamental rights of parents.”
Beyond ridiculous. If my child is under the age of 18, I better be notified about everything, even if you’re giving my child a Tylenol.
In fact, if I am responsible for my child, at any age, I better be notified about everything.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY