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Kennett board adopts updated nondiscrimination policies while solicitor flags federal injunction on Title 9 rule changes
Summary
The Kennett Consolidated School District board updated a series of nondiscrimination policies to reflect the U.S. Department of Education's 2024 Title 9 standards but, at the solicitor's recommendation, grandfathered the high school pending court resolution of a nationwide injunction arising from litigation in Kansas.
The Kennett Consolidated School District Board of School Directors on Oct. 14 adopted a suite of updated nondiscrimination policies intended to align the district with the Department of Education's 2024 Title 9 standards while acknowledging current federal litigation.
The board's solicitor, Jeffrey Soltanek, told directors that lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for Kansas by Moms for Liberty, Young America's Foundation and Female Athletes United have produced a nationwide injunction in some respects and created legal uncertainty for districts implementing the 2024 changes. "The words 'good faith' are found in the Pennsylvania Whistleblowers Act," Soltanek said while explaining his recommendation to use existing, statute-based language where appropriate and to "grandfather the regulations for the high school" until courts clarify applicability.
Board members discussed the practical effect of the injunction and the district's legal obligations. Several directors said their priority is student safety and support regardless of the shifting legal landscape. "If someone is harmed under the terms of Title 9 protections, we would take action," one director said, emphasizing the district's duty to students and staff.
The policies approved include updates to policy 103 (nondiscrimination in school and classroom practices), policy 103.1 (qualified students with disabilities), policy 103.2 (nondiscrimination under earlier Title 9 guidance), policy 103.3 (nondiscrimination under the 2024 standards), and associated employment nondiscrimination policy 104. The board also amended policy language on retaliation in separate policy 828 to incorporate "employees who make a good faith report ... shall not be retaliated against," language Soltanek tied to Pennsylvania whistleblower protections.
Board members asked administration to ensure future policy text avoids listing individual staff names as coordinators and to add a standing process to update those pointers when personnel change. The board voted by voice to approve the package as amended; the solicitor and multiple directors framed the action as a pragmatic, legally informed step while litigation continues.
The board said it will revisit specific policy language if court rulings or state guidance change, and that individual complaints alleging harm will be considered under Pennsylvania law and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act as warranted.
What happens next: the district will implement the updated policies and administrative procedures, track any related litigation developments, and amend policy language where named positions should be made generic or referenced by role rather than name.
