This week, the Kansas House passed HB 2468, that would authorize the state to participate in the federal tax credit program, while the Kansas Senate advanced SB 387. The bill would require school districts to verify the household gross income of each student who is deemed an at-risk student and would authorize the Kansas State Department of Education to reimburse school districts for the cost of reduced-price meals. 

Bill Tracker: 

New bills for 2026 passed out of a chamber: 

• 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 bill was passed 70-49 in the House. It will now head to the Senate.  

 

• SB 387: Requiring school districts to verify the household gross earned income of each student who qualifies for at-risk funding under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and requiring legislative authorization to receive special assistance payments under federal law. As amended, the bill would also require school districts to receive legislative approval prior to utilizing the Community Eligible Provision under the NSLP. 
  • The bill was passed as amended 22-18 in the Senate. It will now head to the House. 

 

New bills for 2026 with movement: 

• 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 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 went to the House floor, where it was referred back to the House Committee on Education. 
    • As amended, the bill would prohibit school districts from providing any school-based mental health service to a student without first notifying and obtaining written consent from a student’s parent or the person acting as parent, impose a civil penalty for violations, and define terms, including “school-based mental health service.” 

 

• 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 was held Friday, Feb. 6, in the House Committee on Education. 
  • The House committee on Education recommended the contents of the bill, as amended, be inserted into House Sub. for SB 281 and the substitute bill be passed on Tuesday, February 10.  

 

• 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. 
  • A hearing was held in the House Committee on K-12 Education Budget on Tuesday, Feb. 10. 

 

• 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. The committee chair decided not to work the bill in the committee.

 

• 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. 
  • The House Committee on Education passed the bill out as amended on Wednesday, February 11.  

 

• 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: Providing for the transferability of credentials earned through ACT WorkKeys career readiness assessments towards 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. 
  • The original bill would have enacted 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. 

 

• 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 was held Tuesday, Feb. 10, in the House Committee on Education. The committee Chair indicated that the bill will not be worked this session. 

 

• 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 was held Monday, Feb. 9, in the House Committee on Education. The committee Chair indicated that the bill will not be worked this session.  

 

• 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 was held Thursday, Feb. 12, in the House Committee on Education. The committee is scheduled to discuss and vote on the bill Monday, Feb. 16. 

 

• HB 2663: Modifying the requirements for student cohorts and achievement goals for school district at-risk accountability plans. 
  • A hearing was held Friday, Feb. 6, in the House Committee on Education. The committee voted to recommend the bill be passed and it will now head to the House floor. 

 

• HB 2717: Decreasing the minimum age requirement from age seven to six for compulsory school attendance of students. 
  • A hearing was held Thursday, Feb. 12, in the House Committee on Education. The committee is scheduled to discuss and vote on the bill Monday, Feb. 16. 

 

• HB 2744: Encouraging school districts to annually designate a Linda Brown and family walk to school day. 
  • A hearing was held Thursday, Feb. 12, in the House Committee on Education. The committee Chair indicated that the bill will not be worked this session. 

 

• 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 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 was held 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 K-8 and designating such time as part of the school term, requiring an additional 30 minutes of activity for students in grades K-12, and enacting the presidential fitness test. 
  • Passed out of Senate Committee on Education as amended. 

 

• SB 340: Prohibiting promise scholarship awards from being used to fund corequisite courses. 
  • A hearing was held 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. 
  • The Senate Committee on Education voted to recommend this bill be passed. It will now head to the Senate floor. 

 

• 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. 
  • The Senate Committee on Education voted to recommend this bill be passed. It will now head to the Senate floor. 

 

• 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 was held 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 was held 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 was held 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 was held Feb. 11, in 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. 
  • The Senate Committee on Education voted to recommend this bill be passed. It will now head to the Senate floor. 

 

• SB 491: Enacting the Haylee Weissenbach Protecting Students act to establish the office of education inspector general, authorize the education inspector general to conduct audits, investigations and reviews of educational institutions, require reporting of suspected professional and criminal misconduct by school employees and agents, require certain individuals to register on an educator misconduct registry, require criminal history record checks of school employees and agents and provide for civil penalties for violations of this act. 
  • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

New bills for 2026 with little to no movement: 

Bills that were introduced this session, but haven’t had movement other than being referred to committees include:  

• HB 2409: Prohibiting the commencement of each school term prior to Labor Day. 
• HB 2415: Requiring each local board of education of a school district to appoint a nonvoting student representative to such board of education. 
• HB 2431: Enacting the student secular bill of rights to establish statutory protections against religious coercion and discrimination in public schools. 
• 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. 
• 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. 
• 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. 
• 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. 
• 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. 
• 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 2743: Requiring the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) and the Kansas State Board of Education to ensure that no teacher preparation program includes content related to diversity, equity and inclusion and providing an extended period for retired and substitute teachers to complete certain required literacy training as part of the Kansas Blueprint for Literacy. 
• SB 309: Increasing the extent of property tax exemption for residential property from the statewide school levy. 
• SB 342: Extending the expiration date of the Kansas School Equity and Enhancement Act from 2027 to 2028. 
• 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. 
• 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. 
• 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. 
• 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.  
• 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. 
• SB 424: Enacting the student secular bill of rights to establish statutory protections against religious coercion and discrimination in public schools. 
• 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.  
• 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.  
• 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. 
• SB 458: Requiring state assessments performance levels and cut scores to be based on the 2024 performance levels and cut scores. 

 
Carryover bills with movement in 2026: 

Bills that were carried over from the 2025 session and have had some movement yet in 2026 include:  

• 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: 

Bills that were carried over from the 2025 session but haven’t had movement yet in 2026 include:  

• HB 2104: Standardizing firearm safety programs in school districts. 
• Senate Substitute for HB 2164: Prohibiting certain sex offenders from entering onto school property or attending school activities. 
• HB 2236: Establishing the Mental Health Intervention Team (MHIT) program in the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) in state statute. 
• 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. 
• 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. 

  

Up Next  

Next Thursday, Feb. 19, is turnaround day. Any bill in a nonexempt committee (all three education committees are nonexempt) that doesn’t make it out of its chamber of origin is theoretically dead, however, there’s a chance it could appear elsewhere.  

The Senate is adjourned until 9 a.m., Friday, Feb. 13. The House is adjourned until 11 a.m., Friday, Feb 13. 

The House Committee on Education is scheduled to discuss and take action on HB 2717 and HB 2637 on Monday, Feb. 16. 

Members of the House Committee on K-12 Education Budget are scheduled to spend Monday, Feb. 16, taking final action on bills previously heard. No meetings are scheduled the rest of the week. 

The Senate Committee on Education will not meet next week. 

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.