The ongoing disagreement between Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) and the Kansas State Board of Education (KSBOE) is intensifying over Kobach’s insistence that the state strip anti-discrimination language expanded to include references to gender identity and sexual orientation from its school lunch contracts.
The attorney general maintains that expanding discrimination protection to gender identity and sexual orientation runs counter to U.S. District Court rulings and several recent Executive Orders from the Trump Administration ordering federal agencies to remove Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) language from its regulations and contracts. The school lunch program is administered by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Kobach believes federal support for school lunches and other programs could be threatened if state regulations conflict with federal mandates.
Kobach followed up his June 25th letter with a meeting with state education officials, after which he wrote to them on July 7th:
“I remain convinced that school districts have the legal right to refuse the inclusion of language referring to “sexual orientation, gender identity or expression” in their contracts (see my letter of June 25, attached). Whether these contracts are categorized internally as “state” or “federal” contracts, if any of the funding for these contracts originated from the federal government, they must be consistent with federal law going forward.
“Thus, a refusal by the Kansas Department of Administration to disburse funds, based on the absence of the language above, would be inconsistent with federal law and may risk federal funding for Kansas school children going forward.”
KSDE responded on July 10th with a recitation of the previous two weeks’ communications with Kobach, but was non-committal to agreeing with his assessment, saying, “KSDE continues to work with Kansas schools toward a satisfactory resolution.”
KSBOE met July 8th and 9th for its monthly meeting in Topeka. The board discussed the attorney general’s letters in Executive Session, but took no action.
USD 469 Lansing school board member to propose a solution tonight
Since KSDE and the State Board of Education can’t decide what to do, USD 469 Lansing school board member Amy Cawvey is proposing a solution at tonight’s school board meeting.
Cawvey will propose lining out the conflicting language in Section Z and having the board president initial the changes before signing the agreement. She wrote to KSDE Commissioner Randy Watson to ask if that would be acceptable, but has not received a reply at this writing.
“It is so frustrating to see all the coverage about potential or actual loss of Covid funding, and yet KSDE, the State Board, and others seem just fine with ignoring AG Kobach’s letter and risk losing Federal dollars.”
Dave Trabert, CEO of Kansas Policy Institute, which also owns the Sentinel, Kansas Justice Institute, and the Kansas School Board Resource Center, appreciates Cawvey’s proactive approach and is not surprised by KSDE and Governor Kelly putting local school boards in a political pickle.
“It seems that KSDE is bowing to pressure from Governor Kelly via her Department of Administration to push a political agenda that conflicts with court rulings, state law, and a presidential executive order. Anybody can sue over anything, and Kelly’s pressure puts school boards in a position of potentially losing federal funding and, if sued, having to decide whether to defend based on the governor’s political viewpoint or following guidance from the Kansas Attorney General, a U.S. District Court, and a presidential executive order.
“It’s also pretty ironic that the State Board of Education, in prior years (falsely) declared itself a “fourth branch of government” with the authority to act independently, is now unwilling to take action. This is another case of politics taking priority over educating students.”
