Trump education secretary threatens Kansas schools over trans student privacy policy

The Trump administration threatened to withhold federal funding from a Kansas school district over its trans-inclusive policies.Claiming support for “parental rights,” the U.S. Department of Education said it will partner with the Justice Department to pressure Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools over privacy protections for trans youth. That includes lawsuits demanding a change in policy and the withholding of federal funding from the district.“Thanks to this new partnership, the Department is working more closely than ever with DOJ to ensure schools are protecting children and respecting parental rights,” said Education Secretary Linda McMahon in a statement on the department's website. “We are taking important steps to ensure that cases like this are resolved efficiently in partnership with our DOJ counterparts. By streamlining processes and listening to parents, we will reject dangerous political ideologies that harm children and get back to focusing on learning in the classroom.”Related: Kansas anti-trans law forced her license to say male. Then a cop questioned it and she was chargedThe two federal agencies entered a joint agreement last month to “bolster and expedite the enforcement of our nation’s parental and civil rights laws.” That includes advancing the administration’s view of civil rights in ways that allow discrimination against transgender people.The Kansas school district has a policy aimed at preventing the forced outing of transgender students, explicitly directing “that school personnel 'should not disclose information that may reveal a student's transgender status or gender nonconforming presentation to others, including parents,'" Reuters reports.Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said the policy tramples on the rights of parents to make decisions about their children’s well-being.“Through this historic partnership, the Department of Justice is workin