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Republican state Sen. Mike Cierpiot of Lee’s Summit, said birth certificates reflect “facts on the day you were born." His bill is inspired by a case where a transgender student sued the Blue Springs School District after being barred from locker rooms and bathrooms.

Kansas City’s transgender community is sandwiched between two states where Republican-controlled legislatures have made limiting transgender health care and other rights a top priority. Families say the restrictions put their safety at risk.

University of Kansas leaders say they won’t offer gender-inclusive living assignments at one dormitory beginning next academic year, and they will get rid of a gender-neutral bathroom there.

Unlike in past years, Republicans currently have enough votes to override Gov. Laura Kelly's veto and ban gender-affirming health care for minors. But Democrats and the ACLU says it violates Kansans' constitutional rights.

The case may decide if the Missouri Human Rights Act covers legal sex, such as when a birth certificate is amended after gender transition, or is limited to sex as assigned at birth. The MHRA makes it illegal to deny public accommodations on the basis of sex, among other restrictions.

Senate Floor Leader Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville, said that the legislation permanently barring transgender minors from accessing health care is a priority for the Republican caucus this year.

Missouri lawmakers banned transgender student athletes from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity, and restricted transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming health care like hormone treatments. But the current laws expire in August 2027.

The GOP has tried and failed to pass a ban on puberty blockers and hormone treatments, as well as gender-affirming surgery, for children with gender dysphoria. But this year, Republicans have an even stronger majority in the Kansas Statehouse.

After a judge last week upheld a 2023 state law banning some gender-affirming medical care for minors, Republican lawmakers signaled that they aren’t done pushing for laws restricting the rights of transgender Missourians.

Gov. Mike Parson and Sen. Josh Hawley have claimed that Missouri Amendment 3 — which would legalize abortion — would also allow minors to obtain gender transition surgeries without parental consent. Legal and medical experts say that's "wildly inaccurate."

The 13-day trial included testimony from transgender minors, who — along with their families and health-care providers — challenged the constitutionality of a 2023 Missouri law restricting physicians from prescribing gender-affirming medical care to minors.

The University of Kansas informed students this month that it's consolidating several diversity-related organizations into one new Student Engagement Center. Opponents say the move is an unnecessary reaction to political pressure.