Trump administration threatens Kansas school district over trans student protections
Education Secretary Linda McMahon (Getty Images)
The Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal funding from a Kansas school district over a policy designed to protect transgender students from being forcibly outed to their parents.
The US Departments of Education and Justice announced in a statement on Tuesday (30 June) that they are prepared to pursue legal action against Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools unless the district changes its approach and threatens to withhold federal funding if the district does not comply.
At the centre of the dispute is a district policy instructing staff not to disclose a student’s transgender status or gender non-conforming presentation without the student’s consent, including to parents, as reported by Reuters. Federal officials argue the policy violates parents’ rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), while the district’s policy is intended to protect students’ privacy and safety.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in the Department of Education’s statement that the administration would “reject dangerous political ideologies” and work with the Justice Department to ensure schools comply with federal law.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon also accused the district of unlawfully withholding information from parents, saying the government would pursue “all available avenues” to force compliance.
The move is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to roll back protections for transgender students. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has also pushed back against similar anti-outing policies in the state since 2024, despite there being no Kansas law requiring schools to disclose a student’s gender identity to their parents.
The school district has not yet publicly responded to the federal government’s latest threat.
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