Missouri AG announces lawsuit settlement in Wentzville school district’s secret transgender meeting
A lawsuit against a Missouri school district that disregarded parental rights in secretly discussing transgender bathroom policies reached a resolution Monday.
Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced a settlement with Wentzville School District that “reinforces government transparency, safeguards the public’s right to open meetings and records, and affirms parents’ central role in their children’s education.”
The district’s school board allegedly held closed meetings on June 14, 2023 and July 25, 2023 to discuss the “legal landscape” surrounding transgender people using school bathrooms that don’t align with their biological sex.
“Radical gender ideology has no place in Missouri schools, and certainly not in secretive decision-making that sidelines parents,” Hanaway wrote in a post about the settlement on X.
Some members of the board who were at the 2023 meetings reported they objected to the behind-closed-doors discussion and advocated for the conversation to continue publicly, to which one opposing member said “quite frankly, it’s not the parents’ business.”
Informants from the board attested the discussion began as a consultation with an attorney on legal matters pertaining to transgender bathroom issues, but continued for 10 to 15 minutes beyond that to include a discussion of what place the government should play in students’ lives.
Former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed the lawsuit against Wentzville School District in 2023, saying three board members came forward as whistleblowers and “over forty community members followed suit, filing formal complaints.”
National nonprofit Moms for Liberty Political Director Erika Sheets told the Heartlander in a previous interview regarding parental rights, “No one is going to love a child more than their parents.”
She said school officials need to understand “this is the parent’s child, this isn’t your child; you have a role in their life and you’re on their team, but you’re not the coach.”
In the settlement agreement, Wentzville doesn’t admit fault or legal wrongdoing, but “acknowledges that parents have a fundamental liberty interest in raising their children and thus a right to know of and participate in matters affecting their children’s education, safety, and welfare.”
The school district agrees to support the transparency of meetings and records in compliance with Missouri’s Sunshine Law and will train board members and district employees in the law’s requirements. The Wentzville district will also be required to post a public statement regarding the lawsuit and settlement on its website.
Hanaway labeled the settlement as “a great win for government transparency, parents, and the public” on X and commenters celebrated alongside her.
“Thank you 
from a Missouri grandma,” one commenter wrote.