Federal officials announced Tuesday they are pursuing “enforcement measures” against the Shawnee Mission and Olathe school districts for the districts’ policies regarding transgender students.
It’s the latest step in the federal probe, which launched a year ago, against the two Johnson County districts, as well as Kansas City, Kansas, and Topeka Public Schools, that could ultimately lead to the districts losing millions in federal funding.
However, both the Olathe and Shawnee Mission districts maintain they are in compliance with state and federal laws.
Tuesday’s announcement comes about five months after the U.S. Department of Education concluded that the districts violated Title IX, barring gender-based discrimination in public education, as well as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA.
The DOE’s latest announcement this week, however, drops references to any possible Title IX violations on Olathe’s or Shawnee Mission’s parts and focuses on alleged FERPA violations. In particular, the department highlights the districts’ “policies that instruct schools to hide information related to students’ ‘gender identity’ from their parents.”
The DOE stated it’s working alongside the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to pursue action against the two districts.
From the districts
Olathe Public Schools sent a letter to the DOE on Aug. 10, rejecting the federal investigation’s findings. In a statement Tuesday, the district reiterated its compliance with state and federal laws.
“Olathe Public Schools maintains that it has not, nor has it ever, violated any laws regulating public schools, including FERPA,” the district said in its press release Tuesday. “Olathe Public Schools has a strong history of working with parents and guardians to provide information related to their children, and that commitment and practice has never changed.
“The Department’s findings not only question the district’s practices as a whole, but question the integrity and professionalism of our staff members who ultimately are being accused of violating FERPA,” the release continued.
The Shawnee Mission School District sent a similar letter a day after Olathe, on Aug. 11. This week, a Shawnee Mission spokesperson directed the Post to that letter.
The letter says,“Given the lack of evidentiary support for the ‘finding’ of a FERPA violation and the unnecessary terms proposed for resolution, SMSD will not sign the proposed Resolution Agreement. SMSD does not create or maintain ‘gender support plans,’ has rescinded the policies cited in the [letter of findings], and continues to ensure compliance with FERPA and other federal laws.”
From the U.S. Department of Education
Another Kansas district included in the investigations, Topeka Public Schools, entered into an agreement with the DOE, according to the department’s announcement Tuesday.
The agreement includes:
- informing staff that ‘gender support plans,’ on file must allow the records to be reviewed by parents,
- rescinding prior guidance that prevents schools from keeping parents informed about their children,
- and incorporating DOE approved FERPA content into all teacher and administrator training programs.
“As kids across America head back to school, the Trump Administration is more dedicated than ever to ensuring all schools are respecting parental rights laws,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is quoted in Tuesday’s DOE announcement. “I am glad to see Topeka Public Schools was willing to come to the table and work with us to come into compliance with federal law.
“I hope more school districts will take this necessary step voluntarily, but our work is far from finished,” she added. “Schools that continue to hide information from parents will find that ED and DOJ stand ready to resolve violations of parental rights efficiently and effectively.”
Looking back
The investigations started last August, after allegations that the school districts kept unofficial student records and used “gender support plans,” documents that outline accommodations for transgender students that their parents were unaware of.
The allegations came from the right-leaning nonprofit Defense of Freedom Institute and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach.
In April, the DOE concluded that Olathe and Shawnee Mission violated Title IX and FERPA, telling the districts to sign a voluntary resolution agreement to resolve the investigation — requiring the districts to update policies about sports, restrooms and locker room access and state that participation would be based on students’ sex, not gender identity.
While Olathe signed the agreement, Shawnee Mission did not.
At the time, Olathe officials stressed that signing the agreement wasn’t an admission of wrongdoing, or that the district agreed with the Department of Education’s characterization of school district policies. Instead, they were doing it to preserve federal funding and focus on students.
In June, the DOE then rejected Olathe’s agreement, and issued a 10-day deadline to comply. The letters of enforcement sent to Olathe and Shawnee Mission did not mention any FERPA violations.
