Week 6 Wrap-Up: Midpoint reached as floor votes dominate

Written By Ann Bush

ROBIN BONSALL/KNEA GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

The second-floor rotunda of the Kansas Statehouse.

By Timothy R. Graham
Director of Government Relations

The sixth week of the 2026 Kansas Legislative Session was defined by the approach of the Turnaround deadline. As committees paused most hearings, attention shifted to extended floor debate in both chambers.

The House acted on more than 100 bills, while the Senate acted on more than 50 measures. Education-related proposals, including the veto override of the bathroom bill - H Sub for SB 244 - and several K-12 policy bills, received final action in their chamber of origin.

With Turnaround now reached, the session moves into its second phase as surviving bills begin consideration in the opposite chamber and budget debate continues.

Committee action and bill hearings

View all KNEA testimony submitted this session can be accessed at https://airtable.com/appj9wBhmtHP03DZG/shrSI4L3lCGkclTEJ.

Committee activity was limited this week as the Legislature worked to meet the Turnaround deadline. During the week preceding Turnaround, the primary focus shifted from committee hearings to extended floor debate within each chamber. Bills must be advanced out of their chamber of origin before the deadline to remain alive for the remainder of the session. 

Committees formally met Monday. However, there were no hearings on bills requiring KNEA testimony. 

Chamber floor action

This was a heavy floor week as both chambers worked to meet the Turnaround deadline. The following education-related bills were among those receiving action. 

H Sub for SB 244

Relating to designation of multiple-occupancy private spaces in public buildings by biological sex at birth, defining gender as biological sex at birth for statutory purposes, and directing correction of gender markers on certain state documents.

  • House vote: 87-37 (motion to override veto prevailed Feb. 18)

  • Senate vote: 31-9 (motion to override veto prevailed Feb. 17)

  • Governor action: Vetoed Feb. 13

  • KNEA position: Oppose. Due to procedural actions taken earlier in the session, KNEA was not provided an opportunity to testify prior to floor action.

  • Next step: Enacted following successful veto override.

HB 2320

  • Authorizing children in the custody of the secretary of the Department for Children and Families to attend school in any district, requiring timely transfer of records, and requiring a transportation plan if the child remains in the school of origin.

  • House vote: 122-0 (passed as amended Feb. 19)

  • KNEA position: Support

  • Next step: Referred to the Senate

HB 2482

  • Removing the requirement that the Kansas State Board of Education use a specific exam provider for certain college entrance and career readiness assessments and allowing use of any provider.

  • House vote: 121-1 (passed as amended Feb. 19)

  • KNEA position: Oppose

  • Next step: Referred to the Senate

H Sub for Sub for SB 281

  • Requiring school districts to prohibit student use of personal electronic communication devices during school hours and prohibiting district employees from using social media to directly communicate with students for official school purposes.

  • House vote: 75-48 (substitute passed as amended Feb. 17)

  • KNEA position: No official testimony was submitted on the House substitute. KNEA was neutral on the original Senate version (SB 302) and opposed the original House version (HB 2421).

  • Next step: Referred to Senate Committee on Education after being ruled materially changed Feb. 18

HB 2489

  • Requiring school districts to provide fentanyl abuse education programs and maintain supplies of naloxone in each school.

  • House vote: 123-1 (passed as amended Feb. 18)

  • KNEA position: Neutral

  • Next step: Referred to the Senate

HB 2663

  • Modifying requirements for student cohorts and achievement goals within school district at-risk accountability plans.

  • House vote: 124-0 (passed Feb. 18)

  • KNEA position: No position

  • Next step: Referred to Senate Committee on Education

HB 2762

  • Modifying the crime of unlawful sexual relations to clarify who is considered a person in a position of authority within a school.

  • House vote: 122-0 (passed Feb. 19)

  • KNEA position: No position

  • Next step: Referred to the Senate

In the news

KNEA covered several developments this week in Under The Dome.

Looking ahead

After a four-day weekend, the Legislature will return Tuesday, Feb. 24, and resume committee hearings and floor activity as bills begin moving through the opposite chamber.

KNEA is preparing for possible testimony on HB 2468, the private school voucher proposal; SB 441, addressing special education-related behavioral health services during the school day; and SB 458, concerning statewide assessment performance levels and cut scores. Budget debate on K-12 and higher education funding measures is also expected to continue in both chambers.

Additional detail on these measures and KNEA’s positions will be included in the Weekly Look Ahead, which will be published Monday, Feb. 23.

KNEA will remain engaged at the Statehouse and keep members informed as the session moves forward. Stay updated at http://www.ksutd.org/.

Timothy R. Graham can be reached by email at timothy.graham@knea.org.

Ann Bush
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