Education Department investigating 4 Kansas school districts over trans student policies
The department's Office for Civil Rights and Student Privacy Policy Office opened probes into Topeka, Shawnee Mission, Olathe and Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools, according to a news release.
The investigations follow a complaint filed with the Department of Education in June by the Defense of Freedom Institute, a conservative nonprofit, requesting the department investigate the school districts and 'consider potential sanctions' against them, including a withdrawal of federal funding.
On the same day in June, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) asked Education Secretary Linda McMahon to investigate the same school districts, referencing the Defense of Freedom Institute letter and letters he sent in 2023 to six school boards, including the four at the center of Thursday's announcement.
The Education Department's investigations, as well as the letters from Kobach and the Defense of Freedom Institute, are directed at policies adopted by each of the school districts that ask staff to not disclose or use caution in revealing to a student's parents when a student requests to use a different name or pronoun at school without the parent's permission.
Proponents of such policies argue they protect trans and gender-nonconforming students from families who may not support their identity. Detractors say they deceive parents and infringe on their constitutional rights.
The Education Department said Thursday it is also investigating policies at three of the districts that allow transgender students to use single-sex restrooms and locker rooms that best align with their gender identity.
The department's investigations allege the school districts' policies violate Title IX, the federal civil rights law against sex discrimination in schools that the Trump administration has said prohibits transgender students from using the restroom or playing on sports teams that match their gender identity, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which grants parents of minor students access to their child's records.
Spokespeople for the Shawnee Mission and Kansas City, Kansas school districts did not immediately return a request for comment.
Becky Grubaugh, executive director of communications and community relations for Olathe Public Schools, said the district had not received any formal notification that it was under investigation.
'This is the first I have heard of this,' she wrote in an email to The Hill.
A spokesperson for Topeka Public Schools said the district 'recognizes the importance of parental rights and understands that student success is best achieved when families are actively involved in their child's education.'
'We are committed to working in partnership with parents, keeping them informed and engaged in all decisions that impact their student's educational experience. Our district remains dedicated to ensuring that families are fully supported, valued, and involved every step of the way,' the spokesperson, Aarion L. Gray, said in an email.
In a statement on Thursday, McMahon said the four districts had allowed 'gender ideology to run amok in their schools' in what she said is an affront 'not only to the law, but to the sound judgment we expect from our educational leaders.'
'My offices will vigorously investigate these matters to ensure these practices come to an end,' she said.
Responding to the investigations, Kobach touted a 2024 lawsuit he filed alongside three other Republican-led states challenging Title IX rules instituted by former President Biden's administration that bolstered protections for LGBTQ students.
The Biden administration's regulations, which a federal judge vacated in January, covered discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time.
'I am grateful that we now have a federal government that takes Title IX seriously and will ensure that school districts follow the law,' Kobach said Thursday.
The Education Department has opened more than two dozen investigations into states, school districts, athletic associations and colleges and universities alleged to have violated Title IX by allowing transgender students to use restrooms or participate in sports consistent with their gender identity, part of a broader and aggressive Trump administration push to deliver on the president's campaign promise to rid schools of 'gender insanity.'
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