Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Kansas public school students will need parental permission to leave school grounds for a protest and schools could face $100,000 penalties if they don’t enforce restrictions after legislators overrode the governor’s veto Friday.
Republican legislators overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto to create a buffer around law enforcement and emergency personnel, making it a misdemeanor to go within 25 feet of a first responder while they are working.
More than 10 news entities objected Monday to a bill before the Kansas Legislature granting federal law enforcement officers authority in Kansas to impose 25-foot buffer zones in public spaces and secure immunity in lawsuits.
Lawrence high school students worry their First Amendment rights could be violated under a new Kansas Senate bill, with many students saying they won’t be able to make their voices heard in school if protests are more regulated.
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
The Lawrence school district has delayed responding for months to an open record request related to its silent switch from one AI monitoring software to another. It’s also asking for thousands of dollars to produce the records.
The Kansas Senate voted Tuesday to clamp down on public school protests by requiring students to secure parental permission to participate and by imposing penalties on districts complicit in organizing protests or meek in disciplining student offenders.
Nine current and former students have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Lawrence Public Schools, alleging the district’s use of a controversial AI surveillance tool violates student privacy.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
KU students and faculty are speaking out against KU’s decision to comply with anti-DEI directives that raise First Amendment concerns. It’s also unclear what the penalty might be if the university were to snub the order.
A federal court ruling permanently blocked a 2021 Kansas law that banned groups from sending advance ballot applications to voters, finding that state lawmakers tried to suppress free speech.
Nathan Kramer
KU has eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion positions and programs and is directing employees to remove gender-identifying pronouns from their email signatures before the end of the month in response to state legislation.
