photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Free State High students hold signs supporting transgender rights during an organized walk-out protest Tuesday, March 28, 2023.

Lawrence students walked out of class late Tuesday morning in a show of protest against the anti-transgender bills currently working their way through the Kansas Legislature.

Students at both Free State High and Lawrence High took to the streets in support of transgender rights in their organized protest. On the west side of town, well over 100 students walked from Free State to the intersection of Champion Lane and West Sixth Street, holding signs and flags and drawing honks of support from passing vehicles.

One student’s sign called out SB 207, which would require parental consent for students under 18 to be referred to by anything other than their biological pronouns. But that’s not the only piece of anti-trans legislation lawmakers are considering. SB 12, for example, would ban gender-affirming health care for anyone younger than 21 years old, and SB 180 legally defines “biological sex” in terms related to procreation, and excludes transgender and intersex individuals from accessing sex-segregated spaces like bathrooms, domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers.

Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed one such bill earlier this month: HB 2238, which bans transgender girls in K-12 schools and college from playing sports.

A West Middle School student reached out to the Journal-World Tuesday afternoon to report that around 100 eighth grade students also took part in a walk-out protest at their campus. That group walked east off campus toward Iowa Street, but the student said the group was redirected back onto school property by teachers and administrators after crossing over to Harvard Road. The group completed another lap around the school building before administrators shut down the protest and sent students back to class.

“All in all, I had a good time, and felt proud that I was able to get out and help support trans members of society,” the student said in the email.

photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Well over 100 Free State High students protested on the west side of Lawrence Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in support of transgender rights.

photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Free State High students walked from campus to the intersection of Champion Lane and West Sixth Street during a protest against anti-trans legislation in the Kansas Legislature.

photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Free State Students hold signs in support of transgender right as they are greeted with honks of support from passing vehicles Tuesday, March 28, 2023.

photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Free State students hold signs and flags in support of transgender rights on Tuesday, March 28, 2023.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Journal-World

Lawrence High School students take part in a rally along 23rd and Louisiana streets for transgender rights on Tuesday, March 28, 2023.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Journal-World

Lawrence High School students take part in a rally along 23rd and Louisiana streets for transgender rights on Tuesday, March 28, 2023.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Journal-World

Lawrence High School students take part in a rally along 23rd Street for transgender rights on Tuesday, March 28, 2023.

photo by: Contributed

Students at West Middle School make signs as part of a rally supporting trans rights Tuesday, March 28, 2023.