Federal Education Department finds Shawnee Mission policies violated FERPA and Title IX

The U.S. Department of Education announced April 17 that Shawnee Mission School District violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, and Title IX, citing district policies involving student records, sex-based facilities and athletics.

The federal announcement places the district in a proposed corrective-action process, not a completed resolution. The reviewed announcement did not state whether Shawnee Mission had signed a final resolution agreement by Aug. 3.

Federal findings and proposed terms

The Department’s Student Privacy Policy Office found that Shawnee Mission policies violated FERPA. Separately, the Department’s Office for Civil Rights concluded that the district violated Title IX through policies allowing students to use restrooms, locker rooms and changing rooms based on gender identity.

Federal officials also said the district’s sports policies raised significant compliance concerns. The Department proposed resolution terms addressing facilities, overnight accommodations, athletics and parent access to records related to a student’s gender transition.

Under the proposed terms, access to facilities and overnight accommodations would be based on sex rather than gender identity. The terms also would require policy changes concerning athletics and parents’ access to gender-transition-related records.

Those are proposed requirements rather than an adopted agreement. The Department said that if it and the district do not reach an agreement, the matter could advance to enforcement action and potential proceedings to terminate federal funding. The announcement did not say that any federal funding had been terminated.

What the process means for the district

The findings concern district policies that affect students and families using school facilities, participating in athletics or seeking access to student records, as well as staff responsible for administering those policies. The federal announcement identified Shawnee Mission as one of four Kansas school districts found to have FERPA violations.

The next identified step is whether Shawnee Mission reaches a resolution with the Department on the proposed corrective terms. The available federal announcement does not provide a deadline for an agreement, a district response, or details of any later compliance filing or litigation.

Overland Park connection and school calendar

Shawnee Mission operates schools in Overland Park, including Overland Park Elementary School at 8150 Santa Fe Drive. The school’s calendar listed Aug. 3 as the reporting date for new teachers and Aug. 6 for continuing teachers.

Students in grades 1 through 7 and grade 9 were scheduled to return Aug. 12. Students in grade 8 and grades 10 through 12 were scheduled to return Aug. 13. Those calendar dates are separate from the federal compliance process and do not establish whether the proposed resolution terms have been finalized.