high school sports

Kansas City native and former Seattle SuperSonics basketball player Dean Tolson made it to college without learning to read. Now, he holds an advanced degree, and is advocating for education with a new memoir, "Power Forward."

A new Kansas law bans transgender girls from playing sports on girls' teams in schools and colleges. Opponents say that discriminating against transgender children was a solution to a problem that didn't exist, and the law ignores real fairness problems that female athletes face in Kansas.

Neither the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education nor the Missouri State High School Activities Association could say how they will enforce the state's restrictions on transgender athletes — one of the most controversial new laws approved by Missouri legislators this year.

The Urban Youth Academy helped plant the team's flag in the Historic 18th and Vine district, but many residents of nearby neighborhoods have only mustered lukewarm acceptance. Will the lack of enthusiasm affect the push for a new downtown ballpark?

Under the legislation, schools would not be allowed to let students play on sports teams that don’t match the gender listed on their birth certificate or another government record. The bill would apply to public and charter schools from grade six through 12.

A pair of bills were debated by the Senate education and workforce development committee aimed at expanding access to activities like sports and clubs to students who are homeschooled.

The bill would require students in Kansas to be assigned to male and female sports teams based on biological evidence at birth, including a person’s genitalia, chromosomes or reproductive potential. Among 41,000 girls competing in Kansas high school athletic events, only three are known to be transgender.

University of Kansas graduate student Anh-Dao Do turned her experience as a caddie into a way to pay for college. She wants to help others do the same, and help revive a dying skill in the process.

Kansas House lawmakers failed to override a veto from the governor, spelling the end for a ban on transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports.

The bills now head to the Senate with two weeks left in the session.

Senators voted to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's veto, meaning the ban only needs a House override vote to become law.

Supporters of the bill argued that allowing transgender athletes to play puts cisgender women at a disadvantage. Transgender kids and their parents said participating in team sports is about more than winning.