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Transgender Kansans had their IDs invalidated overnight, causing confusion and panic
Some transgender Kansans received letters urging them to request new IDs that conflict with their gender identity and presentation, because their current ones are “invalid immediately.” It’s the result of a new law that also regulates which bathrooms transgender people are allowed to use.
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Civil rights • Voter rights • Anti-trans legislation • Abortion • Immigration • Municipalities’ local control • Kansas State Board of Education
MORe KANSAS NEWS
All Kansas universities request tuition hikes; Emporia State plans to slash student fees
All six of Kansas’ state universities have proposed tuition increases for the 2024-2025 school year. KU is proposing a 3.5% tuition increase for both undergraduate and graduate students.
Kansas governor follows through on threat to veto bipartisan tax plan, will call special session
A session-long standoff between Gov. Laura Kelly and state legislators over changes in tax policy reached its inevitable climax Thursday when the governor vetoed a bipartisan tax plan as promised.
Kansas governor signs school funding bill with $75 million boost for special education
Gov. Laura Kelly signed legislation that allocates $6.6 billion to K-12 public schools, including $75 million in new money for special education, but vetoed language designed to funnel safety grant cash to a specific software company.
Former foster kids relived trauma, fought for new program and compelled Kansas lawmakers to act
On Tuesday, alumni of Kansas’ foster care system celebrated the passage of legislation that will allow foster kids who are 16 or older to choose to stay with a family member or close friend — as opposed to bouncing from one temporary house to another or sleeping in office space.
Planned Parenthood is expanding in Kansas with a new clinic in Pittsburg
Planned Parenthood Great Plains is expanding in Kansas in the face of immense demand for abortions in the state, driven by a surge of people traveling from states with abortion bans.
Kansas AG sues Biden administration over new federal protections for LGBTQ+ students
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced Tuesday he has sued President Joe Biden’s administration over the rewrite of federal rules to protect LGBTQ+ students.
Traffic tickets in Kansas can cost low-income drivers their licenses. There’s a new law to help
Traffic tickets for low-income drivers can snowball into thousands of dollars of debt and revoked licenses. A new law aims to reduce fines and fees to help get them reinstated.
For many Kansas students, financial aid delays are making it hard to plan for college
Some Kansas high school students are scrambling to decide on a college and pay tuition deposits after errors with the application process for federal student aid kept them waiting months longer than usual.
Kansas gets Good Samaritan overdose law. But people on parole are left out
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has signed a bill to include drug overdoses in the state’s Good Samaritan law. But people on parole, probation or work release were left out of the protections.
Kansas governor vetoes child support for fetuses
Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed legislation that would have opened up a pathway for child support claims to be made on behalf of fetuses, calling it an attempt to “take more control over women.”
Hundreds of millions of birds will make the Midwest the migration capital of the U.S. this weekend
As many as 100 million or 200 million birds will fly northward along the Central Flyway on Saturday night. Kansas, Missouri and neighboring states lie in the hottest of hotspots.
Kansas and Missouri get an unusual chance to catch the northern lights tonight
Solar flares are causing a geomagnetic storm that should make it possible for Kansas City and other cities in the middle of the country to see the aurora borealis, which can usually only be glimpsed in northern latitudes. The best views are expected around midnight.
Trees are spreading across the Great Plains. They’re actually making climate change worse
We normally think of trees as being good for the environment. But in parts of the Midwest and Great Plains, they’re heating up the earth as woodlands take over grasslands.
Gov. Laura Kelly affirms plan to veto bipartisan $2.3 billion, five-year tax reform bill
Gov. Laura Kelly said there was “absolutely no way” to avoid vetoing the $2.3 billion tax reduction bill approved with bipartisan majorities in the Kansas Legislature, arguing the cumulative year-to-year result of a half-billion-dollar drop in revenue would crack the state’s financial foundation.
New Kansas coalition seeks to legalize adult use of cannabis, expunge criminal records
Leaders of a new politically diverse coalition said Tuesday they were committed to supporting candidates for the Kansas Legislature dedicated to ending the state’s prohibition on recreational cannabis and to expunging criminal records tied to marijuana.
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