DOJ sues KCK schools in first-of-its-kind case

The latest: The U.S. Department of Justice recently sued KCK, arguing its guidelines violate federal parental rights laws by allowing some information about students' gender identity to be kept from parents.

• The district says it is complying with federal law and disputes the allegations. The district declined to comment further on the pending litigation, and Superintendent Anna Stubblefield did not respond to Axios' request for comment.
• Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon called the case "the first of many." A week before the suit, the Education Department announced it is partnering with DOJ on enforcement against Olathe and Shawnee Mission.

Context: The Education Department began investigating KCK and three other Kansas districts in August 2025 after Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach wrote to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, and the conservative Defense of Freedom Institute alleged their transgender student policies violated federal law.

• The group argued the districts improperly kept some information about students' gender identities from parents and allowed students to use facilities based on gender identity rather than sex.
• The department found in April that all four districts violated FERPA and offered each an agreement to come into compliance voluntarily. KCK disputed the findings and refused to sign, leading the Education Department and DOJ to begin coordinated enforcement in July.

What's inside: The suit centers on a guidance document that DOJ says district staff first drafted in 2017 and have updated since, outlining how schools support transgender students, including how staff handles a student's preferred name and pronouns.

• Under the guideline, DOJ says, a student can ask to keep that information from their parents, and the district weighs each request case by case, considering age, grade level and welfare.
• DOJ argues the practice amounts to helping students socially transition at school while treating it as confidential, violating FERPA, which gives parents access to their children's education records, and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, which requires parental consent before schools collect certain sensitive information.
• "Parental rights are paramount in the operation of America's public schools," Dhillon said in a statement.

The other side: The district said it is in full compliance with both laws and is disappointed by the filing.

• Stubblefield told KSHB the 2017 document was a report the school board never adopted and that the district's actual practice doesn't block parents from records.
• DOJ acknowledges the board never voted on it but says current guidance follows a similar practice.

Zoom out: Topeka Public Schools, one of the four districts investigated, settled last week without a lawsuit, agreeing to stop creating "gender support plans," open existing ones to parents and rescind guidance that kept information from them.

• Olathe refused a similar agreement, saying in a statement reported by KCUR that the effort amounted to a "drawn-out political display." The district, which published its correspondence with the department, told Axios it has nothing else to add.
• Shawnee Mission also refused, telling the department in an Aug. 11 letter shared with Axios that it "will not sign."
• The district says it replaced the disputed guidance in February to comply with a Kansas law that defines gender as sex assigned at birth and requires signed parental consent to change a student's name or gender.

What's next: Dhillon called the case "the first of many," and the Education Department has named Olathe and Shawnee Mission as its next enforcement targets. Both districts have said they won't settle.