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Kansas may pressure schools to ditch Native American mascots

The Kansas Board of Education will soon vote on a recommendation to do away with Native American mascots statewide. Plus, a Board of Education race in Johnson County is between two candidates who diverge on hot button issues like control of curriculum and how schools discuss mental health.

The Kansas Board of Education is considering a plan to make Native American mascots a thing of the past. Tribal leaders say the change is overdue. But as Suzanne Perez of the Kansas News Service reports, about two dozen schools and the communities that support them aren’t likely to drop their mascots unless they’re forced to.

It’s hard to find an issue that has divided people the way education has over the last few years, with headlines dominated by fights over how COVID-protocols, race education, and LGBTQ issues are handled in schools. As KCUR’s Jodi Fortino reports, a heated Board of Education race in Johnson County's 3rd District is turning on what role the government should have in schools.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.
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