Several new education-related bills were introduced during the fourth week of the 2026 Kansas legislative session. These bills include legislation that would require state assessment performance levels and cut scores be based on the 2024 performance levels and cut scores (SB 458), and a bill that would enact the “Affirming Parental Rights” act (HB 2710). 

Bill Tracker: 

New bills for 2026: 

• HB 2409: Prohibiting the commencement of each school term prior to Labor Day. 
  • Referred to the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2411: Reducing the required waiting period for employment of KPERS retirants hired by a school district for a covered position that requires a teaching license or certificate. 
  • A hearing was held Wednesday, Feb. 4, in the House Committee on Financial Institutions and Pensions. 

 

• HB 2415: Requiring each local board of education of a school district to appoint a nonvoting student representative to such board of education. 
  • Referred to the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2420: Requiring school districts to obtain parental consent prior to providing certain school-based mental health services to a student. 
  • The House Committee on Education recommended on Tuesday, Feb. 3, the bill be passed as amended. It will now head to the House floor. 

 

• HB 2421: Requiring school districts to prohibit the use of personal electronic communication devices during school hours, prohibiting any employee of a school district from using social media to directly communicate with any student for official school purposes and requiring school districts to report on the amount of screen time that certain students experience during a typical school day. 
  • A hearing is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 6, in the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2431: Enacting the student secular bill of rights to establish statutory protections against religious coercion and discrimination in public schools.

  • Referred to the House Committee on Education. 

• HB 2468: Electing to participate in the federal tax credit for individual contributions to scholarship granting organizations and increasing the aggregate tax credit limit on the Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship program. 
  • The House Committee on Education on Feb. 3, recommended this bill be passed as amended. It will now head to the House floor. 

 

• HB 2482: Removing the requirement that the state board of education use a certain exam provider to deliver certain college entrance and career readiness exams and requiring the board to provide for such exams using any provider. 
  • Referred to the House Committee on K-12 Education Budget. 

 

• HB 2486: Requiring children to be toilet trained to enroll in and attend kindergarten in any public school and providing certain exceptions thereto. 
  • A hearing was held Thursday, Jan. 29, in the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2489: Requiring school districts to provide fentanyl abuse education programs and maintain supplies of naloxone in each school. 
  • A hearing was held in the House Committee on Education on Thursday, Feb. 5. 

 

• HB 2510: Requiring each school district board of education to allocate membership association dues to individual board members and prohibiting the payment of such dues if a board member elects not to join such membership association.
  • A hearing was held Feb. 5, in the House Committee on Education. 

 

• Substitute for HB 2530: Enacting the Career Readiness Education Development Innovation Transferability (CREDIT) act to require high schools to administer career readiness assessments to students and provide for the transferability of credentials earned through such assessments toward a degree. 
  • The House Committee on Education voted on Feb. 4, to recommend the bill be amended by substituting with a new bill to be designated as Substitute for HB 2530. It was approved on the House floor and referred back to the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2531: Permitting a licensed chiropractor to evaluate and provide written clearance to a school athlete who has been removed from a sport competition or practice session pursuant to the School Sports Head Injury Prevention act. 

• Referred to the House Committee on Health and Human Services. 

 

• HB 2565: Requiring that employees of the Kansas State School for the Blind and the Kansas School for the Deaf be paid at same rate of compensation that is paid to a teacher employed by USD 233, Olathe, in the current school year.  
  • A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 11, in the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2576: Establishing Erin's law to require school districts to provide a training and age-appropriate student instruction on the identification and reporting of signs of child sexual abuse.  
  • A hearing is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 9, in the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2637: Requiring eligible boards of education to consider participation in the community eligibility provision, providing a financial hardship exception from such participation and requiring the state department of education to assist school districts seeking such participation. 
  • A hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 12, in the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2660: Making and concerning appropriations for the state board of regents for the Kansas blueprint for literacy, expanding the every child can read act reporting requirements and amending the Kansas blueprint for literacy to provide certain requirements for the state board of education, the state board of regents and school districts with regard to literacy education and reporting. 
  • Referred to the House Committee on Higher Education Budget on Feb. 3. 

 

• HB 2662: Enacting the student safety and awareness act to require school districts to designate a month during the school year as student safety and awareness month and to provide educational programs for students on the dangers and effects of fentanyl use, personal safety and awareness and social media literacy, safety and responsibility during such designated month. 
  • Referred to the House Committee on Education on Feb. 3. 

 

• HB 2663: Modifying the requirements for student cohorts and achievement goals for school district at-risk accountability plans. 
  • A hearing is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 6, in the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2673: Establishing the positive learning environment act to provide for certain rights for teachers and require school districts to adopt school management plans to address behavioral infractions by students. 
  • Referred to the House Committee on Education on Feb. 3. 

 

• HB 2680: Renaming the tax credit for low income students scholarship program the Kansas K-12 students scholarship program, expanding eligibility under the program, increasing the aggregate tax credit limit and moving the program's administration to the state treasurer. 
  • Referred to the House Committee on Education on Feb. 4. 

 

• HB 2710: Enacting the affirming parental rights act to require school districts to provide parents with an affirming parental rights document, requiring the investigation of parental rights violations and establishing certain remedies for parents aggrieved by such violations. 

 

• HB 2717: Decreasing the minimum age requirement from age seven to six for compulsory school attendance of students. 

 

• HCR 5015: Urging the United States Department of Education to distribute certain federal moneys in the form of block grants to the state. 
  • Introduced in March 2025. Referred to the House Committee on Education Jan. 28, 2026. 

 

• SB 302: Requiring school districts to prohibit the use of personal electronic communication devices during instructional time and prohibiting any employee of a school district from using social media to directly communicate with any student for official school purposes. 
  • A hearing was held in Senate Education on Thursday, Jan. 15. The State Board provided neutral testimony. 

 

• SB 309: Increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy. 
  • Referred to the Senate Committee on Assessment and Taxation. 

 

• SB 315: Making and concerning supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2026 and appropriations for fiscal years 2027 and 2028 for various state agencies, authorizing certain capital improvement projects and fees, authorizing certain transfers. 
  • A hearing is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 9, in the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. 

 

• SB 338: Including a home school within the definition of private elementary and secondary school and defining home school. 
  •  A hearing was held in Senate Education on Wednesday, Jan. 21. 

 

• SB 339: Requiring school districts to provide at least 30 minutes of daily recess time for students in grades kindergarten through five and designating such time as part of the school term. 
  • A hearing was held in Senate Education on Thursday, Jan. 22. 

 

• SB 340: Prohibiting promise scholarship awards from being used to fund corequisite courses. 
  • A hearing is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 9, in the Senate Committee on Education. 
  •  
• SB 341: Providing requirements for agreements between a school district and a postsecondary educational institution for the provision of postsecondary courses taught in secondary schools. 
  • A hearing was held in Senate Education on Thursday, Jan 22. 

 

• SB 342: Extending the expiration date of the Kansas School Equity and Enhancement Act from 2027 to 2028. 
  • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 349: Requiring the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) to establish a school classification system for activities based on student attendance and a multiplier factor that adjusts certain schools' student attendance. 
  • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 350: Enacting the age-appropriate school device act to establish safety standards and requirements for the use of school-issued devices in certain grade levels and authorizing parents to opt out students from certain uses of such devices.  
  • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 361: Authorizing foreign exchange students who reside with a host family to enroll in and attend the resident school district of the host family as if the student were a resident of the school district and excluding such student from the open-seat lottery process. 
  • A hearing was held Tuesday, Feb. 3, in the Senate Committee on Education.

 

• SB 381: Requiring instruction to provide students with an understanding of communist and socialist regimes and ideologies and that students pass an American civics examination in order to graduate with a high school diploma. 
  • A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 11, in the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 382: Providing for the administration and proctoring of statewide assessments to virtual school students by such students' virtual schools. 
  • A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10, in the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 383: Adding certain third parties who contract with school districts to the definition of special teacher and authorizing special education state aid reimbursement for qualified teachers who provide approved special education or related services to students with an IEP administered by such school district pursuant to a contract. 
  • A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10, in the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 384: Extending the application deadline for authorization to operate as a public innovative district from December 1 to May 1 and deeming applications approved if not approved or denied within 30 days of submission.  
  • A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 11, in the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 385: Establishing Erin's law to require school districts to provide training and age-appropriate student instruction on the identification and reporting of signs of child sexual abuse. 
  • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 386: Electing to participate in the federal tax credit for individual contributions to scholarship granting organizations and increasing the aggregate tax credit limit on the Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship Program.  
  • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 387: Requiring school districts to verify the household gross earned income of each student who qualifies for free meals under the national school lunch program and requiring legislative authorization to receive special assistance payments under federal law. 
  • A hearing was held Thursday, Jan. 29, in the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency. 

 

• SB 420: Enacting the Holocaust education act to require school districts to provide instruction on Holocaust education and awareness as part of the social studies curriculum for students in grades six through 12. 
  • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 421: Enacting the Safeguarding Personal Expression at K-12 Schools (SPEAKS) act to authorize students and student clubs or organizations to engage in certain speech or expression at school and providing a civil cause of action for violations of the act. 
  • A hearing was held Wednesday, Feb. 4, in the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 424: Enacting the student secular bill of rights to establish statutory protections against religious coercion and discrimination in public schools. 
  • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 438: Requiring eligible boards of education to consider participation in the community eligibility program, providing a financial hardship exception from such participation and requiring the state department of education to assist school districts seeking such participation.  
  • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 440: Authorizing a special education pilot program that provides provisional accreditation to a private entity for the purpose of operating a special education teacher training program, allowing such entity to collect data from such program and providing requirements for full accreditation of such program.  
  • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 441: Enacting the applied behavior analysis services in school act to authorize the provision of medically necessary behavioral health services by private providers in schools and requiring school districts to adopt policies for the provision of such services. 
  • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 458: Requiring state assessments performance levels and cut scores to be based on the 2024 performance levels and cut scores. 

 
Carryover bills passed out of committee or chamber in 2025: 

• SB 48: Requiring school districts to demonstrate improvement in academic performance and be in compliance with all federal and state statutes and rules and regulations to achieve or maintain accreditation. 
  • Referred back to the Senate Committee on Education.

 

• SB 49: Requiring that each attendance center needs assessment be conducted by the local board of education and include input from board members, teachers, school site councils and school administrators and that board members receive certain state assessment data and identify allocations of money in the school district budget and budget summary. 
  • Referred back to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2034: Authorizing school districts to employ chaplains or accept such persons as volunteers. 
  • Introduced and referred to the House Committee on Education in 2025. A hearing was held Jan. 14, 2026, in the committee. 

 

• HB 2203: Including children with fetal alcohol syndrome disorder under the definition of other health impairment in the special education for exceptional children act. 
  • Introduced and referred to the House Committee on Education in 2025. A hearing was held Jan. 15 and Jan. 22, 2026, in the committee. 

 

Carryover bills without movement yet in 2026: 

• HB 2104: Standardizing firearm safety programs in school districts. 

 

• HB 2236: Establishing the Mental Health Intervention Team (MHIT) program in the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) in state statute and providing incentives for coordination between school districts, qualified schools and mental health intervention team providers. 
  • Passed out of the House Committee on Health and Human Services in March 2025.  

 

• Senate Substitute for HB 2164: Prohibiting certain sex offenders from entering onto school property or attending school activities and creating criminal penalties for violation thereof. 
  • Passed in the Senate 38-2 in 2025; the House non-concurred on amendments made to the bill and it was assigned to a conference committee. 

 

• SB 47: Requiring school districts to publicly list the names and email addresses of current school board members, authorizing local school board members to add new items to board meeting discussions, ask questions or engage in discussion with members of the public and access school property, authorizing members of the public to address school boards at board meetings and authorizing payment of annual dues to any not-for-profit organization that provides services to member school districts. 
  • Passed as amended in the Senate 21-19 in 2025; referred to the House Committee on Education. No movement yet in 2026. 

 

• SB 75: Establishing the education opportunity tax credit to provide an income tax credit for taxpayers with eligible dependent children who are not enrolled in public school. 

 

• SB 263: Establishing standards and requirements for active shooter drills conducted by public and accredited nonpublic elementary and secondary schools. 

  

Education Committee Happenings 

House Committee on Education 

The House Committee on Education held hearings on HB 2489 and HB 2510, with hearings on HB 2663 and HB 2421 scheduled for Friday, Feb. 6. 
  

Senate Committee on Education 

The Senate Committee on Education held hearings on SB 361 and SB 421 this week. On Thursday, the committee heard two presentations from the Legislative Post Audit regarding free lunch student counts used as the basis for at-risk funding, and evaluating access controls of school district accounting systems. 

 
House Committee on K-12 Education Budget 

The House Committee on K-12 Education Budget made recommendations on the Kansas State Department of Education’s budgets for 2026 and 2027. This will now go to the House Committee on Appropriations. 

  

Up Next  

The Senate is adjourned until 9 a.m., on Friday, Feb. 6. The House is adjourned until 11 a.m., on Friday, Feb 6. 

The House Committee on Education is scheduled to take final action on bills previously heard, and hold hearings on HB 2576, HB 2565, HB 2637 and HB 2142. The committee is also slated to discuss and take action on HB 2421, HB 2428, HB 2489, HB 2663 and HB 2510. 

The agenda for the House Committee on K-12 Education Budget has not been announced as of this publishing. 

Members of the Senate Committee on Education are scheduled to take final action on bills previously heard. They will spend Tuesday and Wednesday of next week holding hearings on SB 381, SB 382, SB 383 and SB 384. 

Click here to see calendars and journals of the House and Senate, and agendas for committees. Click here for other useful links and information from KSDE.