SESSION OF 2023
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2427
As Amended by House Committee on Education

Brief*
HB 2427, as amended, would require each school
district board of education to adopt a policy requiring that
separate overnight accommodations be provided for students
of each genetic sex during school district sponsored travel
that requires overnight stays. The bill also would establish
definitions for this purpose and address retaliation against a
student for reporting a violation.

Definitions
The bill would establish definitions for two terms:
● “Genetic sex” to mean:
○ For any individual with at least one “Y”
chromosome at the 23rd loci, the expression
of such chromosome shall be considered
male; and
○ All other individuals shall be considered
female; and
● “School district sponsored travel” to mean any
travel that is necessary for students to attend,
participate, or compete in any event or activity that
is sponsored or sanctioned by a school operated
by the school district, including, but not limited to,
any travel that is organized:

____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
 ○ By any club or other organization recognized
by the school;
○ Through any communication facilitated by the
school, such as email; or
○ Through fundraising activities conducted, in
whole or in part, by school district employees
or on school district property.
Reporting; Retaliation
The bill would provide a private cause of action against
the school district for any student who is subject to retaliation
or adverse actions by a school district or its employees as a
result of reporting a violation relating to the overnight
accommodations policy. The bill would require such civil
actions to be initiated within two years after the harm
occurred. Students prevailing in such action would be entitled
to monetary damages, including for psychological, emotional,
and physical harm suffered; reasonable attorney fees and
costs; and other appropriate relief.

Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee
Federal and State Affairs at the request of Representative
Garber. The bill was referred to the House Committee on
Education on February 16, 2023.

House Committee on Education
In the House Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was provided by five private citizens. The proponents
generally indicated the bill is necessary to keep all children
safe and give clear and defined guidance as to
accommodations on school-sponsored overnight trips.


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 Written-only proponent testimony was provided by
Senator Steffen, representatives of the Kansas Catholic
Conference and Kansas Family Voice, and 17 private
citizens.
Opponent testimony was provided by representatives of
the Kansas Association of School Boards, Kansas National
Education Association, and United School Administrators of
Kansas. Opponents generally indicated the bill would prevent
local districts and parents from having the opportunity to
make decisions on a case-by-case basis, and could cause
potential legal issues for school districts (e.g., requirements
created by the bill and anticipated federal rules on Title IX and
sexual discrimination).
Written-only opponent testimony was provided by
representatives of ACLU-Kansas and Equality Kansas.
The House Committee amended the bill to:
● Replace references to “biological sex” with “genetic
sex”; and
● Establish a definition for “genetic sex.”
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the Kansas State
Department of Education indicates the bill would have a
negligible fiscal financial effect on school districts.
The Office of Judicial Administration (OJA) states the bill
has the potential for increasing litigation in the courts. If it
does, the OJA indicates there would be a fiscal effect on the
operations of the court system. However, it is not possible to
estimate the number of additional court cases that would
arise; therefore, a fiscal effect cannot be estimated. In any
case, the fiscal effect would most likely be accommodated

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within the existing schedule of court cases and would not
require additional resources. The agency also indicates the
bill could result in the collection of docket fees in those cases
filed, which would be deposited to the State General Fund.
Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not reflected
in The FY 2024 Governor’s Budget Report.
Education; school districts; school sponsored travel; overnight accommodations for
students; genetic sex


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