The DOJ sues a Kansas School District for facilitating 'secret gender transitions' behind parents' backs
According to the lawsuit, the district's policies violate two federal laws that protect parents' rights: the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).
Todd Blanche on Capitol Hill/ BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI
The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS), the state's fifth-largest school district, for allegedly facilitating "secret" gender transitions without their parents' knowledge or consent. The DOJ described the case as the first lawsuit of its kind filed by the federal government.
According to the complaint, filed by the DOJ in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, the KCKPS has an internal guideline for transgender students that instructs staff to develop and implement "transition" plans for minors without informing their parents or obtaining their consent.
In this context, the agency led by Attorney General Todd Blanche believes these practices violate two federal laws protecting parental rights: the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).
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With this lawsuit, the DOJ seeks a court order directing the district to halt the implementation of its gender transition guidelines, in addition to granting other relief requested in the complaint.
"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," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillo of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division said.
"The Department will not tolerate school districts playing fast and loose with federal law in the service of radical gender ideology," she added.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon noted the following: "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. 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."
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