KIRKWOOD, MO — Thomas More Society attorneys have sent a follow-up letter to the Kirkwood School District on behalf of parent group Kirkwood for Educational Integrity, detailing how the District uses the “Sora” digital reading app to give students access to materials that many parents would object to—without first obtaining parental consent. The letter explains that recent Supreme Court decisions on parental rights—including Thomas More Society’s landmark victory in Mirabelli v. Bonta, building on last year’s decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor–require that the District notify parents whenever they intend to give students materials that may undermine parents’ rights to guide the upbringing of their children. Through the Sora app, which student users can access on school and home devices, Kirkwood School District provides objectionable content in several ways.

The letter identifies three aspects of KSD’s use of Sora that parents have a right to know about, so that they have the information they need to consider opting them out of the app: first, student users have access to public library catalog previews containing sexually explicit and otherwise objectionable images and descriptions; second, the app provides access to a state-provided digital collection called Missouri MOREnet, which contains similarly explicit and objectionable content; and third, the District’s content filter does not effectively screen sources students access through the app, including live links to explicit content that would otherwise be blocked. Among other content that parents would likely object to, the app provides material Thomas More Society attorneys and law enforcement officials have judged to be likely illegal to furnish to minors under Missouri law.

“It is now beyond dispute that all parents have a right to know about and opt their children out of explicit and other objectionable content presented as ‘normal’ at school,” said Mary Catherine Martin, Senior Counsel at Thomas More Society. “Parents trust their child’s school district to provide only age-appropriate materials, so many have no idea that there is explicit and otherwise objectionable content on their children’s devices unless the District informs them.”  

“While the law does not require Kirkwood to stop using Sora, it does require them to give parents complete information and let families decide for themselves,” Martin added. “After the Supreme Court’s decisions in Mahmoud and Mirabelli, that’s the constitutional minimum. Parents and lawmakers are now empowered to sue when a school district refuses to tell parents what content they are giving children.”

Although the Supreme Court decisions clarifying KSD’s notice requirements related to Sora are recent, the District has known that its content filter does not operate effectively to screen Internet sites and other content within Sora for several years. Its former Director of Technology testified last October that it is “widely known” that filters work less effectively within third-party apps like Sora, and internal communications produced in related litigation show administrators were aware of the gap in protection for students as early as 2023. KFEI and other parents have been asking KSD to truthfully communicate with parents about Sora since KSD introduced the app in Fall of 2022.

The district has until June 8 to respond. Read the full letter here.

The letter is the latest in an ongoing exchange between Thomas More Society and KSD about KSD’s legal obligations to parents related to Sora. Thomas More Society’s previous letter is available here.