Tag: Kansas Legislature
School funding exceeds $20,000 per student adjusted for cost of living
New data from the Kansas Department of Education show school funding was $17,650 per student in the 2023 school year,…
Kansas lawmakers discuss reform of civil asset forfeiture law
Standards of proof required for civil asset forfeiture, the process through which a law enforcement agency may seize and take…
School districts sitting on $1.25 billion in operating cash reserves
New data from the Kansas Department of Education show school districts collectively added $68 million to their operating cash reserves…
Democrats push property tax hike on cars, farms, businesses
With the legislative session just around the corner, Kansas House Democrats are pushing a big property tax increase on cars…
Pennsylvania settlement allows parents to opt students out of SEL
In a victory for parents, America First Legal recently announced a settlement agreement in a lawsuit it filed earlier this…
Inspector General report pushes for background checks on teachers, staff
A recent audit by the Medicaid Inspector General of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s management of School-Based Fee…
State audit: just spending more won’t improve achievement
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is touting recent slight increases in state assessments as proof that more spending results in improved…
KU graduate teaching assistant union calls Israel ‘settler colonial project’
As Israel responds to the vicious terror attacks by radical Islamist group Hamas, a graduate student group based at the…
2023 ACT scores drop beyond 30 year low
A little more than a week after the Kansas Association of School Boards touted Kansas as one of only six…
Education bureaucracy pushing the status quo in hearings
Legislative hearings over this and last week are focusing on how to improve outcomes in Kansas education, perhaps unsurprisingly, the education…
Homeschool, private school students begin applying to play public school sports
Applications for non-public school students to participate in public school activities began on Aug. 1 and so far, concerns schools…
AFP-Kansas presents Frederick Douglass Award to Rep. Marvin Robinson II
A free-market group, the Americans for Prosperity Foundation-Kansas, has given its first ever Frederick Douglass Award “for standing on principle…
IT audit finds rampant cybersecurity issues at state agencies
More than two years after Kansas became the No. 1 state for unemployment fraud in the nation, a new IT…
KJI appeals Covey Find Kennel 4th Amendment case
The Kansas Justice Institute (KJI) is continuing to fight for a Cowley County dog trainer’s rights under the 4th Amendment,…
LPA issues scathing report on at-risk student spending
A new report from the Kansas Division of Legislative Post Audit paints a damning picture of mismanagement and misuse of…
ACLU, KNEA tell schools to ignore Women’s Bill of Rights law
Just days before the “Women’s Bill of Rights” law goes into effect on July 1, the American Civil Liberties Union…
NCTQ: Many Kansas universities still don’t teach the science of reading
A new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) shows that if the science of reading was being…
Homeschool students allowed to participate in public school activities next year
Noelle Friese is excited for her children in the homeschool she runs with her husband. After moving to Kansas a…
The science of reading is the solution to state, nation’s literacy problem
Thirty-four percent of fourth-grade students in the United States cannot read at the basic level, according to the National Center…
State agencies fail to fully implement multiple audit reccomendations
Several state agencies have failed to fully implement recommendations made by auditors over the last several years. According to a…
Kelly vetoes bill that would have helped childcare crisis
One of the biggest obstacles to economic recovery post-pandemic has been the difficulty in finding childcare. Writing in the Wichita…
Microschools continue to gain traction in Kansas
Microschools, which provide opportunities for enterprising teachers and parents to find alternatives to the public school system, are gaining traction…
Chances for school choice this session narrow substantially
School choice legislation is not yet entirely dead in Kansas this year, although opportunities for passage this session are narrowing.…
Fairness in Women’s Sports Act becomes law
After three years of attempts, the full legislature has overridden Democrat Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of the “Fairness in Women’s…