Feds investigate Kansas schools’ trans policies after Kris Kobach’s request

A federal agency has launched a probe into four Kansas school districts — three in the Kansas City area — over their treatment of transgender students following a letter requesting as much from Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach earlier this summer.

The U.S. Department of Education announced on Thursday an investigation into the four Kansas districts, scrutinizing policies surrounding gender, identity, the privacy of transgender students and those students’ access to school facilities.

The department is investigating potential violations of Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which concerns parents’ rights to students’ education records, by Olathe, Topeka, Shawnee Mission and Kansas City, Kansas, public schools.

“The Kansas districts’ alleged behavior of allowing gender ideology to run amok in their schools is an affront not only to the law, but to the sound judgment we expect from our educational leaders,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a news release.

According to the agency’s announcement, the investigation will focus on the districts’ alleged policies allowing students to play sports and use restrooms according to their gender identity, which may not always be the same as their sex assigned at birth. The investigation also will look into the districts’ practices around seeking students’ consent before notifying parents if their students use different names or pronouns at school than they do at home.

The press release notes that violations of Title IX or FERPA can result in a loss of federal funding for schools. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach also mentioned this potential reality to top lawmakers during a Thursday meeting in Topeka, saying the districts’ access to federal money will depend on investigation results.

What sparked the probe is a 35-page complaint filed on June 24 by the Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies, a national, conservative nonprofit focusing on education and employment issues, alongside a letter Kobach sent to McMahon in late June.

In its complaint, the institute claims that use of private spaces — like bathrooms — based on gender identity instead of sex assigned at birth violates Title IX and that the failure of a school to disclose a change in identity to a student’s parents violates FERPA.

Notably, Olathe Public Schools is accused in the complaint only of violating FERPA, not Title IX. The other three districts are said to be in noncompliance with both.

The education department’s investigation announcement does not differentiate which act each district is suspected to be in violation of. It does emphasize that Title IX protects against discrimination based on sex. The law does not include language defining sex or gender identity.

Prior to his letter to McMahon, Kobach sent letters to six school districts and the Kansas Association of School Boards in December of 2023, alleging the districts’ failure to disclose to parents if their students use different names or pronouns at school.

These developments are underscored by a larger effort of Republican lawmakers in Kansas to regulate the lives of transgender and non-binary Kansans. In Kansas, legislators overrode Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill barring trans athletes from women’s sports and passed a law preventing transgender Kansans from changing the gender on their IDs.

Previous reporting from The Star determined the school districts have varied policies on how to handle situations in which students wish to use different pronouns at school than they do at home. Some districts don’t inform the parents, while others inform parents with student permission or evaluate on an individual basis what will cause the least harm to the student.

School districts and board members respond

Olathe public schools released a statement Thursday saying that the district expects staff to work with parents on matters regarding their children. The statement also said there weren’t any specific instances of the district’s wrongdoing identified in the letter.

“In Olathe Public Schools, we stand ready and are proud to serve all students who attend our schools,” the statement read. “That is the foundation and responsibility of all public school systems – to serve every child that walks through our doors. Our focus is and will always be educating our students for their future.”

In a previous statement to The Star, the district said leaders reached out to Kobach’s office to ask about specific instances in which they violated the law after receiving a letter from him. The office wasn’t able to give a concrete example, the district said.

As in Olathe, the Shawnee Mission school district said in a statement that it is not aware of any students or families filing Title IX or FERPA complaints against the district’s policies.

In the statement, the district said they received a letter from the education department detailing “allegations that SMSD’s practices for providing equal access to transgender students violate federal laws. Unlike any other investigation notice letter that the district has received in the past, this letter outlines the USDOE’s enforcement options to withhold payments, to issue cease and desist orders, and to sue.”

Shawnee Mission school board member David Westbrook called the investigation “nothing more than a classic political witchhunt.”

“I guess to be gender correct, this is more a warlock hunt than a witchhunt. But in either case, it’s Halloween fantasy and it’s not what we should be talking about in a sensible discussion about public schools and education policy,” Westbrook said in an interview with The Star.

Westbrook said he’s “very confident in the sensibility” of Shawnee Mission’s policies and practices.

“It’s not our job to promote a point of view about gender. Our job is to promote high-quality learning opportunities,” Westbrook said.

“I find it remarkably ironic that the attorney general, in order to find standing, has relied on a federal Department of Education that the president is in the process of attempting to dismantle.”

Neither the Topeka nor KCK school districts responded to The Star’s request for comment before the time of publication. In earlier statements to The Star following Kobach’s letter, each of the four districts defended their policies and supported the rights of transgender students.

In a Thursday statement to KSNT 27 News, Topeka schools spokesman Aarion Gray said the district “recognizes the importance of parental rights and understands that student success is best achieved when families are actively involved in their child’s education.”

“We are committed to working in partnership with parents, keeping them informed and engaged in all decisions that impact their student’s educational experience. Our district remains dedicated to ensuring that families are fully supported, valued and involved every step of the way.”

Earlier this summer, Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools maintained in a statement to The Star that it had not violated FERPA and stated its openness to discussing student concerns that may arise with families.

“We remain committed to ensuring that all students feel safe at school and are able to focus on learning,” the district’s statement read. “We will continue to partner with parents and guardians to maintain open, respectful communication between families, their children and the district.”

Matthew Kelly, Taylor O’Connor and Sofi Zeman contributed reporting.

This story was originally published August 14, 2025 at 5:21 PM.