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Kansas BOE names Jake Steel as state’s next education commissioner
Kansas public schools will soon have a new chief administrator. The Kansas State Board of Education has named Jake Steel as the state’s next education commissioner.
Kansas BOE names Jake Steel as state’s next education commissioner
Kansas public schools will soon have a new chief administrator. The Kansas State Board of Education has named Jake Steel as the state’s next education commissioner.
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TOP TAGS
Civil rights • Voter rights • Anti-trans legislation • Abortion • Immigration • Municipalities’ local control • Kansas State Board of Education
MORe STATE GOVERNMENT NEWS
Kansas pitches plan offering 9 hours of college courses to under-resourced high school students
Kansas Board of Education member Betty Arnold believes a program offering lower-income students nine credit hours of college courses while in high school can propel more toward two- or four-year degrees — on one condition.
More Americans got health insurance during the pandemic, but not in Kansas
New Census data shows that more Americans have health insurance now than before the pandemic thanks to special federal programs. But not so in Kansas, where insurance rates dropped significantly below the U.S. average for the first time in decades.
Open enrollment for Kansas schools raises concerns about equity, representation and funding, local leaders say
Open enrollment in Kansas public schools will worsen existing inequities and funding issues as well as diminish the importance of voters’ representation on local school boards, some local leaders say.
Kansas family struggles to adopt foster daughter, says system is broken
Nicole DeHaven broke down in tears while giving testimony about her foster care experience during a meeting Monday with state lawmakers.
Kansas legislators clash with Labor secretary over report on unemployment fraud, identity theft
Kansas’ IT system for unemployment claims could have been hacked by any fifth-grader, the chairman of an oversight committee said during a tense meeting Wednesday on security breaches.
More than 30,000 Kansans with suspended licenses could have kept driving legally last year
Kansas wants to to make it easier for some people with suspended licenses to get some driving privileges with restricted licenses. But more than 30,000 people are still missing out.
Kansas lawmakers award $50,000 in wrongful conviction case involving knife possession
The State Finance Council approved settlements Tuesday of a $50,000 wrongful conviction case and two other legal conflicts, but the council did not disclose information about those claims nor amounts of tax dollars spent to settle them.
Schmidt, college swimmer embrace restrictions on participation in sports by transgender athletes
Republican gubernatorial nominee Derek Schmidt pledged Thursday to sign legislation targeting transgender persons by mandating athletic teams sponsored by public schools and colleges in Kansas align participation with an individual’s gender at birth.
Western Kansas’ economy threatened by reliance on irrigating crops with Ogallala Aquifer
Consumption of groundwater from the Ogallala Aquifer continues to outstrip its natural replenishment.
Kansas women articulate unnecessary economic barriers in parental leave, pay gap, mentorship
Women in Kansas have more education than men but still only make 78 cents to the dollar that men make for the same work. Infant care in the state is 1.3 times more expensive than in-state college tuition. While more women vote than men, only 28% of legislative seats are held by women.
House Democrats offer package of state tax reforms to alleviate cost of college education
Under a proposal from Kansas Democrats, a $150 tax rebate would be available to parents of college-age children to help pay for college fees, books and supplies. The initiative also features a business tax credit and a savings account tweak.
Most Kansas voters want abortion access, but their legislators may further restrict it anyway
Kansans decisively rejected a state constitutional amendment that would have removed the right to an abortion. But many conservative lawmakers will go unchallenged at the ballot box this year, allowing them to continue the push to restrict abortion access in the legislature.
Kansas mental health hospitals are so overcrowded that patients have to wait in hallways
Hospital administrators told lawmakers at a hearing Tuesday that a lack of mental health services and overcrowding puts both patients and health care workers in danger at hospitals in south and central Kansas.
Kansas Rep. Gail Finney remembered as champion for Wichita, warrior for justice
Rep. Gail Finney’s colleagues mourned her death Saturday and remembered the Wichita Democrat as a fierce advocate for child welfare reform, a warrior for justice, a champion for her community, and a shining example of a public servant.
Kansas woman says effort to recount abortion vote depends on ‘God moving in people’s lives’
Melissa Leavitt says her ability to raise money to pay for a statewide hand recount of votes on the constitutional amendment on abortion rights will “have a lot to do with God moving in people’s lives.”
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