A St. Louis Area Public School District is Continuing to Sexualize Children—Even After the National Outrage

What happened In 2023

No educator or school system should ever hide information from parents, especially when it directly impacts their child’s safety, values, and development. Instead of listening to families and communities, school districts are fueling conflict and eroding trust.

In a shocking 2023 incident, the Kirkwood High School yearbook published a four-page spread featuring student responses to a survey about sex and drug use—gathered without legal consent. Outraged, two mothers filed a lawsuit against the district, represented by the Thomas More Society. Kirkwood School District officials obstructed their requests for answers, delaying responses, misleading parents, denying access to documents, and even shifting the blame onto students.

Over a year’s time, the two concerned parents submitted 14 Sunshine Law requests to the district. They sought transparency on curriculum and policies intended to limit student access to explicit content on school-issued devices. One request uncovered an illegally distributed survey on students’ sexual behavior—sent by a student yearbook staffer under the school’s supervision. Parents were kept in the dark until national media outlets reported on the issue, despite laws that require prior parental notification.

This story garnered National Outrage in from many media outlets such as Fox News Network, New York Post, and NBC.

Kirkwood High School 2023 Yearbook

What Happened This Year

Even more alarming, while still under legal scrutiny, the district had the audacity this past spring to send out a new questionnaire—this time asking for parental permission to survey students again, in supposed “compliance” with federal law. The questions included: “Have you ever snuck in/snuck out someone for a hookup?”

This time they used it in the Student Newspaper, a less obvious medium since the parents and community would have less exposure to an online story versus a printed Year Book.

Let’s be clear: these weren’t just curious teenagers asking each other questions. This was the school administration—using taxpayer-funded resources—facilitating and endorsing highly inappropriate content. Despite legal action and public outrage, they continued their efforts to sexualize minors. Parents must be alert. What we propose are ways to protect family rights from extremist progressive school districts like Kirkwood. We support school choice for St. Louis County families and moving school district elections to November in the hope of moderating progressive school districts.

March 2025 Kirkwood Call Student Newspaper