First Amendment

The Kansas Legislature approved a provision to clamp down on public school protests by requiring students to receive parental permission before participating, and hitting districts with penalties as high as $100,000 per day for failing to enforce restrictions.

The Kansas House and Senate both voted by a two-thirds majority to put the "Kansas Intellectual Rights and Knowledge Act" into law. The bill addresses free speech on college campuses and honors Kirk, a political activist killed by a gunman in September while speaking at a college event.

A Missouri bill would forbid state and local governments from restricting religious services during a state health emergency.

The legislation underwent major changes in the Senate, including new reporting requirements for all forms of discrimination. But some House Democrats still dissented, saying it will discourage discussion about the Middle East.

Missouri lawmakers are debating new internet laws aimed at keeping minors safe online, but critics warn the rules could threaten privacy and free speech.

A dispute over a mural outside a hamburger restaurant in Salina, Kansas, could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Plus: Three massive bronze bison sculpted by a Missouri artist are joining the collection at the largest natural history museum in the world.

Kansas lawmakers are considering restricting student protests after high schoolers organized walkouts across the state in protest of immigration enforcement. We’ll hear from three students about their experience. Plus: We'll go inside the Greenhouse Print Space, a Kansas City studio keeping hundreds of years of printmaking technology alive.

The legislation would require schools to use a working definition of antisemitism that would include comparing Israel’s contemporary policies to those of Nazis. Critics say the measure will discourage debate about Israel and Palestine.

A KCUR investigation discovered the department used the city’s license plate readers to track the writer’s movements and it issued a “be on the lookout” for him.

Sharon Liese, an Overland Park filmmaker, said the documentary “Seized” is a “microcosm of what’s going on in the country and world.” Zooming in on the 2023 Kansas newspaper raid, the documentary will premiere this month at the Sundance Film Festival.

"Seized" tells the story of the Marion County Record. It will "make people think about what journalism really is and what people really want journalism to be," its director and producer said.

NPR was in court for a pivotal hearing arguing that the Trump administration had broken the law with its treatment of public media.