photo by: Courtesy of Rainbow Kids and Families

Members of the Rainbow Kids and Families organization are pictured at a Pride event.

Advocates for LGBTQ students’ rights will conduct a workshop tonight at the Lawrence Public Library.

Titled “Protecting LGBTQ+ Students’ Rights at School: A Tool Kit,” the workshop, hosted by Rainbow Kids and Families and the ACLU of Kansas, is designed to help students, parents, guardians and advocates seek full equality and dignity for LGBTQ+ students in schools.

“There are thousands of LGBTQ+ students across Kansas, living as their true and authentic selves and trying to learn and thrive at school,” an announcement on the Rainbow Kids and Families website says. “But we know that it’s not easy being openly LGBTQ+ in Kansas schools, and it’s especially difficult for students who are transgender and/or gender diverse.”

The workshop is taking place on the heels of recently passed anti-LGBTQ legislation, including the law known as SB 180, which went into effect in July. The law bans transgender people from using the bathrooms and other gender-specific areas associated with their gender identity. Kansas also has banned transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports from kindergarten through college, and the state has restricted changing gender markers on official documents like birth certificates and driver’s license.

Less than three weeks after SB 180 went into effect, the Lawrence City Commission voted unanimously to codify protections against present and future anti-LGBTQ+ legislation through a new safe-haven ordinance.

The Lawrence school district, in compliance with open meetings regulations, has given notice that at least four members of the seven-member school board could be present at tonight’s meeting.

The public event is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St. The event is free but an RSVP is requested. A virtual option can also be requested on the RSVP form.