Weekly Look Ahead: KNEA planning to testify on five bills, monitoring others
During the fourth week of the 2026 legislative session, the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) will offer testimony on several education-related bills while continuing to monitor others as they move through the Kansas Legislature.
House Bill 2428
Hearing: 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3
Room: 218-N
Committee: House Committee on Education
KNEA position: Oppose, in-person testimony
House Bill 2428 would require the Kansas Board of Regents to establish curricula and designate courses at postsecondary educational institutions relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and critical race theory (CRT). It would also require the study of American institutions and certain programs at freshman orientations concerning free speech.
House Bill 2489
Hearing: 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5
Room: 218-N
Committee: House Committee on Education
KNEA position: Neutral with concerns about liability, in-person testimony
HB 2489 would require school districts to provide fentanyl abuse education programs and maintain supplies of naloxone in each school.
The Kansas State Board of Education must develop age‑appropriate guidance on preventing fentanyl and opioid abuse.
School districts must implement fentanyl abuse education for students in grades 9-12.
All schools would be required to maintain a stock supply of naloxone, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses.
To support these initiatives, the bill amends existing law to allow the attorney general to provide grants from the Kansas Fights Addiction Fund specifically for school districts to purchase naloxone supplies. This funding comes from statewide opioid litigation settlements and is dedicated to addressing substance abuse issues. The legislation would take effect upon publication in the statute book.
House Bill 2411
Hearing: 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4
Room: 582-N
Committee: House Committee on Financial Institutions and Pensions
KNEA position: Support, in-person testimony
HB 2411 would reduce the required waiting period for employment of Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) retirants hired by a school district for a covered position that required a teaching license or certificate.
Currently, most retirees from KPERS must wait 60 days after retirement before being rehired by a participating employer (or 180 days if they retire before age 62).
This bill would create a special exception for retired teachers, reducing the waiting period to 45 days when rehired for positions requiring a teaching license or certificate. The shortened waiting period would apply only to positions requiring teaching credentials and only when there is no prearranged employment agreement prior to retirement.
Senate Bill 419
Hearing: 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4
Room: 144-S
Committee: Senate Committee on Education
KNEA position: Oppose, written testimony
SB 419 relates to postsecondary educational institutions and enacts the Kansas Intellectual Rights and Knowledge (KIRK) act.
The bill would:
Declare outdoor campus areas public forums, prohibiting colleges and universities from creating designated “free speech zones.”
Require institutions to publish free-expression policies, provide training, and submit annual compliance reports to the governor and legislature.
Create a private right of action, allowing students or student associations to sue institutions for violations, with mandatory minimum damages and attorney fees.
Senate Bill 421
Hearing: 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4
Room: 144-S
Committee: Senate Committee on Education
KNEA position: Oppose, in-person testimony
SB 421 enacts the Kansas Safeguarding Personal Expression at K-12 Schools (SPEAKS) Act.
Under this law, students cannot be discriminated against or penalized for expressing viewpoints in class discussions, homework assignments, artwork, presentations, or other schoolwork. Student work expressing viewpoints must be graded according to ordinary academic standards rather than the viewpoint itself.
The act specifically permits students to wear clothing and accessories displaying religious, political, or ideological messages to the same extent other messages are permitted.
The law does include limitations. Schools may restrict speech that is not protected by the First Amendment, such as threats or obscenity. Schools may also address expression that is so severe or pervasive that it denies other students equal access to educational opportunities, as well as conduct that substantially disrupts school operations.
Monitoring
KNEA is monitoring HB 2510, which would require each board of education to allocate the amount of membership association dues to individual board members. It prohibits payment of such dues if a board member elects not to join such membership association. It authorizes payment of such dues if a board member elects to join a membership organization.
The House Committee on Education will have a hearing on HB 2510 at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, in Room 218-N.
KNEA is also monitoring SB 361, which could authorize foreign exchange students who reside with a host family to enroll in and attend the host family’s resident school district, excluding them from the district’s open-seat lottery process.
The Senate Committee on Education will have a hearing at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, in Room 144-S.
KNEA will remain engaged at the Statehouse and keep members informed as the session moves forward. Stay updated at www.ksutd.org.