Trump administration threatens to pull KC-area schools’ funding in Title IX dispute
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Department of Education threatened to pull funding from specific districts in a Title IX.
- Olathe Schools agreed in a voluntary resolution to define sex by birth certificate.
- Shawnee Mission refused to sign and its attorneys called the investigation a 'sham.
The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday threatened to pull federal funding from four Kansas City-area school districts after alleging the districts violated federal rules about gender identity.
The federal agency lobbed the threat in letters to the Olathe, Shawnee Mission, Kansas City, Kansas, and Topeka school districts Thursday afternoon. The letters build on allegations that the districts have policies that violate Title IX, a federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in schools.
The districts at the center of the federal probe have previously cast the investigation as politically motivated and meritless. Thursday’s decision to ramp up the investigation caught several district officials off guard.
“They haven’t even had a chance to review it, and not only that, the board is not aware of it either,” Markl Johnson, the spokesperson for the Kansas City, Kansas, district, said of the letter. “And so we need to go through the proper channels and alert folks before they can even respond.”
The federal agency broadly took aim at alleged policies in the districts that allowed students to use restrooms that match their gender identity. District officials have said those policies were changed after the Legislature enacted a new state law that required people to use restrooms in schools and other government-owned facilities that align with their sex assigned at birth.
The allegations and monthslong federal investigation come as the Trump administration has sought to limit transgender rights in schools amid a wave of legislation nationally aimed at the LGBTQ community.
Thursday’s letters came during Pride Month, which commemorates the struggle for LGBTQ rights. The federal agency’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) said in a news release it recognized “June as Title IX Month” and would “fiercely protect students and parents,” in an apparent dig at Pride Month.
“The Districts must come into compliance with Title IX or risk further enforcement action,” said Kimberly Richey, OCR’s assistant secretary.
The agency said in a news release that it sent “Letters of Impending Enforcement Action” to Olathe, Shawnee Mission and Topeka, saying that the districts have 10 days to shift their policies or “face enforcement action.” That action could include referral to the Justice Department and termination of federal funding, the release said.
The agency also sent a separate letter — called a “Letter of Impasse” — to the district in Kansas City, Kansas, saying the department was “preparing for impending enforcement” that also could scrap the district’s federal funding.
Thursday’s action came after the Trump administration launched an investigation into the districts last summer following a complaint from the Defense of Freedom Institute, a right-wing nonprofit, and Kansas Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach.
The federal education department in April found that the districts had policies that violated Title IX.
School district officials have broadly pushed back against the investigation and the federal agency’s findings. That messaging continued on Thursday in the wake of the letters.
Johnson, the KCKPS spokesperson, said district officials were blindsided by the letter Thursday afternoon. The district has previously characterized the findings of the investigation as “not supported by the facts or law.”
The department’s threat to pull funding also came after Olathe Schools said it would agree to take action but did not admit wrongdoing. A spokesperson for the district previously called the investigation “political theater,” saying there were no policies that violated federal law.
Olathe Schools Board of Education approved a voluntary resolution agreement last month, aiming to address Title IX and FERPA concerns raised by the investigation.
The agreement, sent to the Office of Civil Rights, said Olathe Schools would post a statement on its website to comply with department interpretations of Title IX.
Olathe Schools agreed to define “sex” as a student’s sex at birth, as reflected on a birth certificate. The district also agrees to only allow sports participation, bathroom and locker room use, and overnight accommodations based on biological sex — but that was already standard procedure before the investigation, Grubaugh said.
Olathe Schools also agreed to revise or remove any policies, guidance or website content that conflicts with the department’s interpretations of Title IX and Kansas law.
It was not immediately clear what caused the department to continue its aim at Olathe Schools after the resolution agreement, or if the department took issue with its terms.
The federal letter also comes roughly a month after the Shawnee Mission district (SMSD) refused to sign onto an agreement with the Trump administration. Attorneys for the district flatly called the investigation a “sham process” in a letter to the agency last month— despite the threat of funding cuts.
“Given these onerous terms proposed for resolution and the baseless allegation of noncompliance with this investigation, SMSD is not interested in pursuing a resolution agreement in this matter,” the district’s attorneys wrote in the letter. “The Department has not established that there are any violations of law that SMSD must remedy.”
In response to Thursday’s news, a spokesperson for the Shawnee Mission district reiterated the district’s stance and pointed to its previous letter in an email to The Star.
Spokespeople for the districts in Olathe and Topeka did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 3:35 PM.
