KSD Promotes Pro-LGBTQ+ “Day of Silence” Protests & Fails to Provide the Required Parental Notification & Opt-Out Opportunity
Today’s pro-LGBTQ+ “Day of Silence” protests at Kirkwood schools are rightfully upsetting to many families, and KSD has again refused to follow the law despite clear legal warning and its own stated intention in December 2025 to “come into full compliance with Mahmoud v. Taylor” (see previous post here for context). Parents, it is time for you to SPEAK UP!
The national non-profit public interest law firm Thomas More Society sent KSD lawyers this legal demand letter on April 7, 2026 that clearly explains how KSD’s promotion of this protest is a violation of parents’ rights that have been clearly confirmed under two recent Supreme Court decisions. Please read the letter and this April 7, 2026 Press Release and KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. Then insist that KSD honors them!
As the press release states, “While students are free to protest on their own, when a school district endorses and facilitates a ‘Day of Silence’ demonstration through official announcements and promotional videos, every student who simply speaks normally is marked as a dissenter. That is the kind of pressure to conform that the Supreme Court decisions in Mirabelli v. Bonta and Mahmoud v. Taylor prohibit. Any district doing so this Friday faces the same legal obligation to notify parents and offer a meaningful opt-out.”
Kirkwood parents, did you receive clear notice of the protests and/or the videos promoting them that have been shown to your children at Kirkwood High School and North Kirkwood Middle School (and possibly other schools) throughout the week? And if you did receive notice, did that include information about your right to opt your children out and how to do that?
Please contact us at contact@kfei.org to let us know your and your children’s experience. Several families are discussing whether or not to pursue additional legal action, and KFEI is able to connect anybody who would like to discuss this with the attorneys. We treat all email communication with confidentiality.
Parents, your rights are well defined. KSD has made it abundantly clear that they have no intention of honoring them. Unless they are held accountable, they will continue. It’s time to step up.
