Justice Department sues Kansas schools for protecting trans students from being outed

The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against a Kansas school district, accusing officials of helping students socially transition at school without informing their parents.

The Trump administration’s suit against Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools, the fifth-largest school district in the state, marks the first such legal action in the department’s history.

“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 Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general and head 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.”

Dhillon has repeatedly targeted the rights of transgender youth and adults, including by challenging insurance coverage for gender-affirming care. The lawsuit against the Kansas district comes weeks after Education Secretary Linda McMahon accused it of violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act through its anti-outing policies. Trump officials now also allege that the district violated the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.

“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,” McMahon said.

“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.”

District officials, however, say the lawsuit is baseless.

“Contrary to the allegations in the Complaint, the district maintains that it is in full compliance with FERPA and PPRA and is disappointed by the DOJ’s decision to file the lawsuit,” a district spokesperson told National Public Radio affiliate KCUR. The district declined further comment, citing the pending litigation.

The lawsuit alleges that the district facilitates students’ social transitions by developing plans to recognize their gender identities at school without consulting their parents or legal guardians. It also challenges a policy that protects students’ privacy by preventing parents from reviewing certain records.

The Justice Department argues that FERPA prohibits schools from creating such an educational plan for a student without consulting the student’s parents.