The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS) over guidelines that allow school staff to implement gender transition plans for students without parental consent or notification.
According to the DOJ, KCKPS’s conduct is in violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), which safeguards the rights of parents.
“I want there to be a very clear message to every school district in the United States: They are on notice that if they violate FERPA and PRRA, the United States Department of Justice stand ready to protect the rights of parents,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillion told Fox News.
Advocates say the lawsuit is a long-overdue action to protect parental rights.
Brittany Jones, president of Kansas Family Voice, spoke on the “Washington Watch” program, saying these policies intentionally exclude families.
“They want to separate parents and children. They want the state to step in and raise these kids,” Jones says. “There are teachers, school district officials and administrators who want to separate parents and children so that they can raise their children for them.”
Jones claimed the issue is extensive across the state, leaving parents unaware while children might be going by different names or pronouns at school. She criticized school officials for promoting gender identity concepts to minors, arguing it does more harm than good.
“You are promoting this ideology to children that's harmful to them, that tells them that they're born in the wrong body — I'm sorry, you can't be born in the wrong body. You are designed on purpose for a purpose.” Jones says. “They're actually miseducating children.”
This is not the first time the Trump administration has fought against trans policies in school. Last year, they opened a Title IX investigation against Tumwater School District in Washington state after punishing a girl for refusing to play against a trans athlete in a basketball game. The controversy resulted in the school district banning trans athletes from female sports, complying with Trump’s “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order but going against the state’s law for trans inclusion.
With litigation for the Kansas case now underway, Jones is urging parents to take action at the local level by attending school board meetings and voting in upcoming statewide elections to restore transparency in education.
A recent study from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also revealed that those with gender-affirming ideologies were strongly associated with left-wing authoritarianism and a greater willingness for political violence.
