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Scholarships, tuition, transgender athletes: What’s changing in Kansas education law
New Kansas education laws will allow private school and home-schooled students to access more publicly funded resources and will create a new scholarship for adult learners in high-demand fields.
Fentanyl test strips will finally be legal in Kansas. Here’s why that matters.
Kansans will soon be able to use fentanyl test strips without fear of being prosecuted after Gov. Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 174 earlier this month, a measure that addiction experts hope will prevent deaths from accidental fentanyl poisoning. “By decriminalizing fentanyl testing strips, we are helping Kansans protect themselves from a deadly poison that…
How Missouri gun laws could change now that the 2023 session is over
Throughout 2023, Missourians witnessed a number of tragic instances of gun violence that led many to question what Missouri gun laws are actually in place to prevent mounting gun deaths in the state. The answer? Not many. Missouri has some of the loosest gun laws in the nation, and it has preemption laws in place…
Missouri politicians make rare bipartisan stand for moms at risk of pregnancy-related death
Missouri has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation. As part of a bipartisan push, lawmakers in the General Assembly took steps to reduce the rate of maternal-related deaths by passing a measure allowing postpartum Medicaid expansion. The health care legislation, SB 106, now heads to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk, and will…
2023 Kansas legislative session: What passed, what didn’t, what was vetoed
Kansas lawmakers concluded this year’s legislative session last Friday after a three-day flurry of veto overrides and finalizing budgets for both public schools and the state, but without passing any of the tax relief policies each party wanted at the start of the session. Neither did Gov. Laura Kelly achieve the major priorities she laid…
What rules and regulations about gender-affirming care could mean for the future of medical care in Missouri
Editor’s note (May 16, 2023): This story has been updated to reflect that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey rescinded his order regarding gender-affirming care for adults and minors in Missouri. Editor’s note (May 10, 2023): This story has been updated to reflect the Missouri General Assembly’s passage of a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors…
The Missouri Senate wants to make it harder to pass citizen-led initiative petitions
The Missouri Senate on Thursday passed a proposed constitutional amendment that would increase the amount of voter support needed for constitutional amendments proposed by citizens to become part of the state constitution. The Republican-led measure, which would require voter approval before it is put into place, passed with a party-line vote of 24-10. It is…
Missouri libraries dodge GOP funding strike — for now
Library professionals across Missouri have spent months pushing back against actions being taken in Jefferson City. And while one immediate funding threat has eased, librarians are still working to inform Missourians about a political landscape that has become newly hostile. Despite a torrent of objections from across the state, libraries in Missouri that want to…
Missouri’s “Stand Your Ground” law could play a role after the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the charges issued by Clay County prosecutors on Monday evening. On Monday, Clay County prosecutors announced charges against 84-year-old Andrew Lester, a white man accused in the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl. The teenager, who is Black, had knocked on Lester’s door Thursday night after he…
Missouri politicians find new avenues to restrict medical care for transgender patients
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Thursday dialed up the temperature in the already heated debate over care for transgender people with an emergency rule mandating “guardrails” to be used by medical and mental health providers who treat transgender patients.
The rule was issued on the same day the Missouri House passed its version…
It took three years for Kansas lawmakers to ban trans athletes from girls’ teams. What happens now?
Transgender and nonbinary student athletes will no longer be allowed to play on girls’ sports teams in Kansas schools, following the state legislature’s override of Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of House Bill 2238. The Kansas trans sports ban does not restrict who might play on boys’ teams. The override is the culmination of a three-year…
‘We all are like one giant family’: Parents of trans children fight bans on gender-affirming care
Along with responsibilities of managing their families, parents of transgender children in Missouri find they are frequently called upon these days to clear their calendars and hit the road to Jefferson City to oppose legislation aimed at their kids and gender-affirming care. After several years spent debating bills related to the small percentage of Missourians…
Missouri lawmakers double down on state control of police. A move is underway to return it to St. Louis
In a vote watched closely in Kansas City, Missourians approved a statewide ballot measure in 2012 to return control of the St. Louis Police Department to the city itself. Just over a decade later, the Missouri legislature is debating multiple pieces of legislation to reverse that decision and put the department under state control. Proponents…
Missouri’s Sunshine Law turns 50 this year. Some lawmakers want to exclude more records from public view
Lori Curry didn’t set out to become an advocate for transparent government when she started using Missouri’s Sunshine Law to request records about a loved one who was incarcerated in a state prison. But now, in her work as executive director of Missouri Prison Reform, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on Missouri prisons, she depends…
“We’re pushing people into a system without any choices”: The state of maternal mortality in Missouri
Correction: An earlier version of this story misattributed a statement about abortion politics and maternal mortality to KC Women’s Ministry executive director Kristen Mason. The KC Women’s Ministry is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and takes no stance on access to abortion. Kristen Mason knows that the months during pregnancy and after childbirth can be difficult,…
Is support for legal medical marijuana in Kansas coming in 2023?
Recreational marijuana is legal to the west in Colorado and to the east in Missouri. Medical marijuana is legal to the south in Oklahoma. But Kansas remains one of three states where possession for any purpose remains illegal — despite the fact that nearly 90 percent of Americans support legal use for at least medical…
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