In January 2025, Parents Defending Education asked the Kansas City Area Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate Kansas City Public Schools in Kansas City, Missouri. The request claims the district is breaking Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a law that bans employers from discriminating against workers based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
The district’s strategic plan, “Blueprint 2030,” sets goals to have people of color make up 40% of all teachers by 2025, and 45% by 2030. It also plans to “develop robust career pathways” for “non-certified” teachers of color by “provid[ing] increased guidance and resources.” According to the plan, teachers of color will get “tutoring and scholarship opportunities” and “teacher certification programs and assessments” that are not open to all of the district’s educators. The district’s website also lists a goal to “create and implement a leadership and development program” for educators of color.
Defending Education urges the EEOC to investigate every claim in its request, fix Kansas City Public Schools’s illegal policies and practices, and order the right remedies.
Read the full complaint and see its evidence below:
