North Kansas City Schools appears to keep gender identity of students hidden from parents; tells staff that students as young as kindergarten are not too young to learn about gender issues; compares transgender identity to being left handed

Parents Defending Education submitted a public records request to North Kansas City Schools seeking any guidance from the district regarding transgender issues. The school district provided PDE with numerous documents for the request. One document that PDE received is titled “Transgender Students: FAQ One-Pager.” The document states: “Changing a student’s name or gender marker in our system is only possible with parent permission.” However, the guidance appears to also explain that the gender identity of students can be hidden from parents:

We encourage and empower students to inform their parents of any changes they wish to make, with careful consideration given to the nature and timing of this communication.

The district is also blatant in that elementary students will be taught about gender issues. The district asks on the document: “Aren’t K-5 kids too young to think or talk about gender?” The district then provides the following answer: “No. Gender is a screening question for preschool.”

The district then asks: “Is this increase in trans kids due to social contagion / peer pressure?” The district then provides the following answer: “No. Trans people have existed throughout history across the world. There’s been an increase in visibility, not frequency. Think of left-handedness. Once it became more socially acceptable, more people started sharing earlier about their identity.”

Another document titled “PowerSchool Name and/or Gender Change Process” appears to explain that the district has an “informal process” for students with parents who disagree with allowing their children to adopt transgender identities. The district states on the document: “If the student disagrees or agrees but the parent is not supportive, the building will follow an informal process established per building without changing the student’s name and/or gender in PowerSchool.”

PDE also received two presentations from the district titled “Gender Spectrums: Supporting Transgender and Nonbinary Students” from April 2023 and July 2023. Both presentations are similar and were created by Gender Spectrum. The organization Gender Spectrum is known for promoting LGBTQ issues to young children. The presentations feature a map labeled as “Anti-Trans Legislative Risk Map.” This map notably states “do not travel” to Florida.

These presentations promote that gender is on a spectrum “according to science.” The presentations also promote identities such as “cisgender,” “transgender,” “nonbinary,” “genderqueer,” “pangender,” “pansexual,” “polysexual,” and “polyamorous.” Staff are also asked: “When’s a time the binary box didn’t fit you?” The presentations also promote students changing their gender throughout the day: “Students may change their pronouns many times throughout the year, or possibly even throughout the day (ie. gender-fluid!).”

The presentations additionally have a page of “Gender-Neutral Terms to Address a Group.” Examples are “theydies & gentlethem,” “homo sapiens,” “folx,” “homies,” “hey fam,” and “morning glories.” Staff are also told to stop using the phrase “mom and dad.”

The district provided PDE with password-protected presentations that could not be saved or uploaded. The following are screenshots from the presentations.