(The Sentinel) – In a challenge to Kansas state law, Lawrence USD 497 has issued a policy for the new school year on the interaction with transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming students.
In 2023, the State Legislature passed House Bill 2238, the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. Among its provisions, it specifies that athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls shall not be open to students of the male sex.
USD 497 is challenging that law with its LGBTQ Advisory Guide, a section of which concerns locker rooms:
Transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming students need suitable locker room accommodations for physical education classes and opportunities to engage in extracurricular activities. Students have the right to change clothes in a comfortable, safe, and welcoming environment.
USDE investigates Title IX violations related to transgender students
In a related story first reported by the Sunflower State Journal, the U.S. Department of Education is responding to a request from Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach to investigate four Kansas school districts for alleged Title IX and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act FERPA violations.
- Kansas City, Kansas
- Olathe
- Shawnee Mission
- Topeka
Kobach is acting on a complaint by the Defense of Freedom Institute, which claims the districts have policies that allow students to participate in sports and to access locker rooms and other intimate facilities based on their “gender identity” rather than their biological sex. Additionally, the complaint alleged that the districts’ policies require or allow school officials to conceal from parents the “social transitioning” of their children.
Kobach sought the federal investigation, saying. “Title IX was enacted to protect the rights of girls to equal educational opportunity and safety. Kansas had to sue and defeat the Biden Administration in federal court to stop them from dismantling Title IX. I am grateful that we now have a federal government that takes Title IX seriously and will ensure that school districts follow the law.”
On the Lawrence School District issue, we reached out to USD 497 Superintendent Jeanice Kerr Swift and Board President GR Gordon-Ross for comment on the state law implications of the district’s policy guide; there was no response from either.
