Show Me My Rights Guide: TGNCI Students

Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in public schools and private schools that receive federal funding. In other words, the law applies to all schools that receive federal funding, including public schools, charter schools, and many private schools, and it requires them to have a Title IX Coordinator to ensure compliance. Title IX applies to most universities as well, as long as they receive federal money. Private schools that do not receive federal funding generally are not governed by anti-discrimination laws such as Title IX, and they may follow their own policies unless there is an applicable law or regulation in place. Because of this, the information below applies only to public schools and private schools that receive federal funding.

Application of Title IX has shifted over time. Under previous administrations, the federal government has previously interpreted the law to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, allowing people who experience such discrimination to file complaints with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. However, under the Trump administration, the Department of Education is no longer accepting or reviewing complaints of discrimination based on gender identity. Instead, it may be helpful to speak with your school’s Title IX Coordinator, reach out to other LGBTQ+ affirming school officials, or investigate local complaint policies that may help you resolve your issue.

The U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Missouri Constitution (see Mo. Const. art. I, § 2) prevent the government from denying equal protection of its laws to any individual. Some courts have held that this prohibits schools from intentionally treating transgender and cisgender students differently, although unfortunately, courts in Missouri are unlikely to rule like this due to the state’s current stance on transgender issues. The Fourteenth Amendment applies to all public and charter schools, but it may not apply to private schools unless they are “entwined” with government funding or institutions under Brentwood Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.

Missouri’s nondiscrimination law is called the Missouri Human Rights Act (or “MHRA”). While the MHRA prohibits discrimination in public accommodations (which includes public schools) based on sex, it does not explicitly include gender identity or sexual orientation as protected classes.

In 2025, in R.M.A. v. Blue Springs R-IV School District, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that public schools can require transgender students to use the restrooms or locker rooms that correspond with their sex assigned at birth. The Court interpreted the term “sex” in the MHRA as “biological sex,” or sex assigned at birth. (*Note: The U.S. Supreme Court held in 2020 in Bostock v. Clayton County that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is “sex” discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but this holding has not yet been extended beyond employment in Missouri.) While this ruling means that public schools may require trans students to use the facilities that align with their sex assigned at birth, it does not require them to do so. Under current state law, public schools can be as accepting and kind to all students as they choose to be and can allow transgender students to use the correct restrooms and locker rooms. The answer to this question likely depends on your school’s individual policy.

Some cities and counties in Missouri have local laws that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The Transgender Law Center (TLC) has put together a helpful list of some of local laws across the country, as well as how to file a complaint under them, here.

Yes. The First Amendment protects students’ rights to express themselves in public schools, which includes clothing, gender expression, and any discussions of LGBTQ+ identities. Your school can still require you to follow its dress code, but dress codes must be applied equally to all students, regardless of gender identity. For example, while your school is legally allowed to ban hats for everyone, they cannot enforce a rule that says only students assigned female at birth are allowed to wear skirts or dresses.

In Tinker v. Des Moines, a 1969 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, the Court held that neither students nor teachers “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

It is illegal for your school to share personal information about you without your consent—or your parents’ consent if you are a minor—to third parties. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the personal information in your school record, including information about your medical history or transgender status.

However, you should be aware that some states have laws requiring public schools to disclose a student’s transgender status to their parents. While Missouri does not currently have such a law, some Republican lawmakers are trying to pass one (ex: SB 1085, which was defeated during the 2026 legislative session but may resurface in the future, would prevent public school staff members from “encouraging” transgender students in their social transition or using their correct names or pronouns).

The answer to this question likely depends on your school district’s policies.

Unfortunately, Missouri’s highest court recently held that public schools may bar transgender students from using sex-segregated facilities (like bathrooms and locker rooms) that align with their gender identity. In the 2025 case R.M.A. v. Blue Springs R-IV School District, the Missouri Supreme Court stated that such policies do not qualify as sex discrimination under the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA). But importantly, the court’s decision in R.M.A. does not require all Missouri school districts to discriminate against trans students in restroom and locker room access!

Currently, there is no Missouri law that guarantees transgender students the right to use bathrooms or locker rooms that are consistent with their gender identity. Although this is disheartening, the good news is that for now, Missouri law also does not prevent schools from allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice, although such legislation has been proposed in the past (and is likely to resurface in the future). At every turn, the ACLU of Missouri will fight this legislation.

Unfortunately, a Missouri law called the “Save Women’s Sports Act” (enacted in 2023) currently prevents schools from allowing students to play on sports teams that do not correspond to their sex assigned at birth. This law applies to all schools in Missouri: private and public elementary, middle, and high schools; public school districts; and private and public institutions of postsecondary education, including universities, trade schools, and colleges. The law threatens to penalize non-compliant schools by revoking their state funding.

Missouri’s law currently has one exception: a student assigned female at birth may be allowed to compete in an athletics competition designated for male students if no comparable competition/team for female students exists (for example, if there is no girls’ football team)​. But if a school has both a girls’ and a boys’ team, a trans boy is allowed to play only on the girls’ team under current state law. (According to a House amendment proposed during the 2026 legislative session, if a trans boy is on hormone therapy, he would be barred from playing tennis on both the girls’ and the boys’ teams. This signals where the Missouri Legislature might go in future sessions.)

Outside of school, Missouri law does not prohibit trans youth from playing on club sports teams consistent with their gender identity, but a trans young person’s ability to do so will depend on a specific club team’s rules and policies.

The “Save Women’s Sports Act” also has a “sunset clause” and is currently set to expire on August 28th, 2027; however, Republicans in the Missouri legislature have repeatedly attempted to remove the expiration provision and make the law permanent. You can stay up to date on these attempts, as well as other efforts to pass anti-transgender laws in Missouri, here.

Efforts to ban transgender youth from playing sports have taken place at the federal level as well. In West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, the U.S. Supreme Court considered a pair of cases challenging West Virginia and Idaho's bans on transgender girls and women playing on school sports teams that are consistent with their gender identity. At issue was whether the state bans are permitted under the U.S. Constitution (the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment) or a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education (Title IX). On June 30, 2026, in a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the laws in Idaho and West Virginia that categorically ban transgender women and girls from women’s and girls’ scholastic sports teams. The Court determined that it did not violate Title IX or the Equal Protection Clause to exclude transgender women and girls from women’s and girls’ sports teams. In its ruling upholding the laws, the Supreme Court found that the states are allowed, but not required, to force transgender student-athletes to compete on teams consistent with their sex assigned at birth and bar them from teams inconsistent with their sex assigned at birth. That means transgender student-athletes in states like Missouri with state-level bans (see RSMo. § 163.048) unfortunately remain barred from playing on teams consistent with their gender identity. For more information on what this decision means, visit ACLU National's website. You can also read the full opinion here.

Yes. The First Amendment protects your right to express yourself at school events, including prom. This means that you can attend prom dressed in clothing that aligns with your gender identity, and you can bring a same-sex date to prom if they meet the same requirements that your school has set for other dates.

Courts in other states have explicitly recognized these rights. In 1980, a Rhode Island district court held in Fricke v. Lynch that the right to attend prom with a same-sex date is protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Additionally, in McMillen v. Itawamba County School District in 2010, a federal district court in Mississippi ruled that public school students have a constitutional right to wear gender-nonconforming clothing to prom and to bring a same-sex date.

The ACLU has put together this guide that addresses other common questions about prom. You can also use the ACLU’s open letters to schools (on this topic and more) here.

No. The Equal Access Act is a federal law that prohibits schools from discriminating against student groups based on religious or political views. If your school allows any student groups at all to form, it must also allow you to start an LGBTQ+ student organization. You will still need to follow your school’s rules for student organizations, as long as they are applied equally to all groups.

If your school is contesting your right to start a Gender and Sexuality Alliance (“GSA”) or other LGBTQ+ student organization at your school:

• You can download and use the “GSAs” open letters to schools, available on the ACLU’s website here
• We also encourage you to get in touch with us at the ACLU of Missouri by emailing: showmemyrights@aclu-mo.org

Most likely yes. There is no law in Missouri that prevents students from reading certain books based on their content, although school officials have wide latitude in selecting the specific books to include in school libraries.

Missouri has attempted to implement legal restrictions on certain books. Under RSMo § 573.550, a law passed in 2022, school officials may not provide “explicit sexual material” to students. It is unclear what this language encompasses, and many schools have broadly removed books that contain pictures or images of LGBTQ+ characters and relationships in order to avoid legal liability. In 2023, the ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of § 573.550. We were successful in blocking the law, but the case is currently on appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. Check our website and social media for updates on the case (e.g., here).

Yes; however, unfortunately, under current state law, your school cannot force teachers or fellow students to respect your identity or use your correct name or pronouns.

There is no Missouri law forbidding or requiring schools to respect students’ correct names and pronouns. This means that currently, whether your school district will respect your identity is dependent on its individual policies. *You can check your school district’s website or contact a school administrator to verify your school’s current policies.

However, you should also be aware that during Missouri’s 2026 legislative session, state legislators proposed a new law (“SB 1085”) that would prohibit teachers and other public school staff members from “encouraging social transition,” including using a student’s correct pronouns or name at school. Additionally, the bill would require staff to notify a student’s parents of the student’s transgender identity. The bill would also require schools to fire educators who do not comply with these requirements. This bill was defeated in 2026 but is likely to come up again during Missouri’s 2027 legislative session. There have also been efforts to pass a similar law at the federal level (“HR 2616”), but these efforts have failed too.

In 2023, the Eighth Circuit held in Parents Defending Education v. Linn-Mar Community School District that an Iowa school district policy requiring students and teachers to respect transgender students violated the First Amendment.

However, school districts across Missouri still have affirming policies in place that aim to protect transgender students and respect their identities. Check with your school district to determine what its policies are on correct name and pronoun usage.

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), it is illegal for a school employee to disclose your transgender status or any other personal information without your consent—or your parents’ consent if you are a minor—to third parties. If you are under eighteen, your school is authorized to share information with your parents. In Missouri, teachers and other school officials are not required to tell your parents about your transgender status, but they are allowed to. Unfortunately, there is not a state law that protects you from being outed to your parents by school officials. *You can find out more about LGBTQ+ laws in Missouri here.

If someone who is not a school employee outs you, you may still be protected by bullying and harassment laws. While Missouri is one of only two states that explicitly prevents school districts from adding explicit LGBTQ+ protections to anti-bullying policies, all school districts are still required to have general anti-bullying policies under RSMo § 160.775. Bullying is defined as “intimidation, unwanted aggressive behavior, or harassment that is repetitive or is substantially likely to be repeated and causes a reasonable student to fear for his or her physical safety or property; substantially interferes with the educational performance, opportunities, or benefits of any student without exception; or substantially disrupts the orderly operation of the school.” If what you are experiencing fits into this definition, you should be protected by your school’s anti-bullying policy. *You can find more information about Missouri anti-bullying laws here.

Harassment is based on a protected characteristic, and it is generally more extreme than bullying. While schools are legally obligated to address harassment under Title IX, a federal law, the Trump administration does not recognize gender identity or sexual orientation as protected characteristics and likely will not follow up on complaints of harassment based on transgender status.

*You can also use the ACLU’s open letters to schools here.

**If you are struggling with your mental health, you can reach out to the Trevor Project or Trans Lifeline.

Yes. Both current and former students have the right to seek to amend school records under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). However, you will need your parents to do this for you if you are a minor—the right transfers from your parents to you when you either turn eighteen or start postsecondary school.

FERPA allows you to amend records that are inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of your right to privacy. Your school is required to give you a formal hearing upon request to discuss the proposed changes to your records. If the school refuses to make the changes, you still have the right to place a statement in your record that explains your desired amendments.

This guide by Lambda Legal provides more information about the process of updating your school records. You can also use the ACLU’s open letters to schools here (see “Transgender Students and School Records”).

If you are interested in updating your legal name or gender marker on any of your state identity documents, such as your birth certificate or driver license, you will likely need to obtain a court order. You can find more information about the process on our “Identity Documents” page. Updating these documents may help you make a stronger case to your school that their records are inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of your right to privacy. However, it is not legally necessary to update your identity documents in order to update your school records.

• *TIP: If you can’t update your official school record, be sure to confirm with your school whether it is still possible to use your preferred name/pronouns on other school records and documents (like a class roster, seating chart, student ID, etc.).

If your question isn’t addressed above, you may submit it to showmemyrights@aclu-mo.org. Submissions are used to develop general guidance for the public and do not constitute individualized legal advice. This inbox is monitored regularly, but due to volume, we cannot guarantee an individual response to every email received.

This is one section of a multi-part guide. You can find the full guide here:

Trans Justice in MO

• Document everything! Take notes and keep copies of any emails with school administrators, relevant school forms, etc. If there isn't an existing paper trail from emails or official documents, make your own. Take notes and write down dates, places, times, what happened, and who was there.

• If anyone at school is harassing or threatening you, it’s crucial that you report every incident to a principal, teacher or counselor. Usually, schools must be put on notice before they can be held legally responsible for protecting you.

• If you have reported harassment or any other kind of discrimination to your school officials and they have done little or nothing to stop it, you (or your parent or legal guardian) can contact the ACLU of Missouri for help weighing your options.

*Note: Stay tuned for a new TGNCI Student Know-Your-Rights Handbook from the ACLU of Missouri!

If you are being harassed, intimidated, or bullied in school, keep a record of each incident and report them to your principal or counselor. To talk to someone outside of your school or to get more information on strategies to stop harassment, contact these organizations:

• Trans Lifeline
• The Trevor Project
• The Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR)

Here are a few more resources for TGNCI students to check out:

• Schools in Transition guide created by the ACLU, Gender Spectrum, the Human Rights Campaign, NCLR, and the National Education Association
• Harvard Law School’s Trans Youth Handbook
• GLISTEN’s resource hub for LGBTQ+ students
• GSA Network
• Trans Student Educational Resources (TSER)
• Trans Mentorship Project
• The POINT Foundation
• Human Rights Campaign (HRC)’s LGBTQ+ student scholarship database
• Out in Tech U
• Maven Youth
• Translatable Project
• #TransMascFutures Campaign
• Trans Legislation Tracker
• Movement Advancement Project (MAP)’s Missouri Equality Profile

*Note: Stay tuned for a new TGNCI Student Know-Your-Rights Handbook from the ACLU of Missouri!

If you feel you have been the victim of discrimination based on your gender expression or identity, please consider contacting the ACLU of Missouri for help.