Justice Department Sues Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools to Stop Secret Gender Transitions
Tuesday, September 1, 2026 - Today, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, joined by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS) to stop the district from facilitating secret “gender transitions” for children at school without their parents’ knowledge or consent.
KCKPS’s conduct violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) — laws designed to safeguard parental rights, including the rights to access and oversee information collected and maintained about their children in public schools. The lawsuit follows extensive efforts by the Department of Education to secure KCKPS’s compliance with federal law.
“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.”
“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.”
“This lawsuit should not come as a surprise,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser for the District of Kansas. “Public education functions effectively only when schools and parents engage in a genuine partnership. When schools withhold information from parents, they undermine trust and disrupt the essential balance between families and public educators.”
As detailed in the Department’s complaint, KCKPS’s Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students Internal Guidance Document (Transgender Guideline) directs staff to develop and implement “transitioning” plans for children’s so-called “gender identity” without informing or obtaining consent from their parents. KCKPS implements its Transgender Guideline without the knowledge of many in the KCKPS community, including parents.
FERPA prohibits a school district from maintaining any policy that denies or effectively prevents a parent from exercising the right to inspect and review his or her child’s education records. PPRA separately requires prior written parental consent before a school may require children to submit to any survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals sensitive information about the student or the student’s family. Because KCKPS’s policies and practices violate core parental rights secured by FERPA and PPRA, the lawsuit seeks an injunction to halt the Transgender Guideline’s enforcement, among other relief.
Note: Read the Department’s Complaint here.
U.S. Department of Justice
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Source: Justice.gov
