Anyone paying attention to committee agendas over the past few days knows one thing is for certain - nothing about this week is settled. 

The schedule that the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) is publishing right now is accurate at this moment - but it will almost certainly change.

Week four of the Kansas Legislative Session was busy, fluid, and at times unpredictable — a good snapshot of how quickly the legislative process can shift.

The Senate Committee on Education heard testimony on Feb. 4, 2026, regarding Senate Bill 421, a proposal addressing student speech and expression in Kansas public schools.

Here are updates on bills the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) has been tracking:

On Tuesday, Feb. 3, the House Committee on Education heard testimony on a bill that would bar public postsecondary institutions from requiring diversity, equity and inclusion- (DEI) or critical race theory- (CRT) related courses for graduation.

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.

The third week of the 2026 Kansas Legislative Session included contentious debate between Republican and Democrat legislators regarding the “bathroom bill” and advocacy on numerous educational issues by the 2026 Kansas Teach of the Year team.

Eight Kansas public school educators advocated at the Kansas Statehouse this week for education issues important to them – and one even challenged members of the Senate Committee on Education to uphold what they have sworn to do – provide for and protect Kansas students.

The House Judiciary Committee on Monday, Jan. 26, approved an expanded bill that would require anyone using a bathroom in government-owned buildings, including schools, to use the facility that matches their biological sex at birth.

Week three of the 2026 legislative session continues at a brisk pace with multiple education-related measures scheduled for committee action and budget discussions.

The second week of the 2026 Kansas Legislative Session ramped up in intensity.

While the week included the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which closed the Statehouse, the remaining days were filled with written and oral testimony from the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) and others.

 A bill requiring school districts to obtain parental consent prior to providing certain school-based mental health services to a student is written too broadly and could delay supports students need to stay engaged in learning, opponents told lawmakers Thursday.

Public funds must remain dedicated to public schools – and they shouldn’t support private education without equivalent public accountability.

“Everything that happens in this building is impacting them or someone they know in some way,” said Sarah Byarlay, a Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) member who attended Equality Day at the Kansas Statehouse with 14 GSA students from Salina Central High School.

Week two of the 2026 legislative session is not slowing down.

The first week of the Kansas Legislative Session included Gov. Laura Kelly’s final State of the State address, a hearing on bipartisan legislation banning cell phone usage during the school day, the unveiling of “The People’s Budget” for fiscal year 2027, and two rallies that drew a dozen Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) members to the Statehouse.

Timothy R. Graham, Director of Government Relations at the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA), was one of four individuals who provided neutral testimony during a Senate Committee of Education hearing Thursday, Jan. 15, on Senate Bill 302, which prohibits the use of personal electronic communication devices during instructional time.

Gov. Laura Kelly unveiled her proposed FY 2027 budget Wednesday, Jan. 14, continuing her administration’s long-standing commitment to public education, fully funding Kansas K–12 public schools for the eighth consecutive year. If enacted, Kelly would be the first Kansas governor in a generation to fully fund public education every year of their term.

Hundreds of Kansans rallied at the Statehouse Wednesday to demand labor rights and legislation that puts people over politics. Among them were more than a dozen Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) members standing in solidarity.

After 14 years in the Kansas Senate and eight years as the governor of Kansas, Laura Kelly delivered her final State of the State address on Tuesday, Jan. 13, setting the tone for the 2026 legislative session.