higher education

The Senate version of the operating budget, totaling nearly $49 billion, now heads back to the House. However, the budget still does not fully fund the state’s K-12 schools.

The House this session passed a major overhaul of how the state funds higher education institutions. Critics say it created winners and losers among the state's universities.

Black, Latino, queer and Asian American student groups were among the multicultural organizations that lost their funding from the University of Missouri. University System President Mun Choi says he was responsible, citing a non-binding memo from the Justice Department.

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.

Kansas lawmakers are returning this week to vote on potentially overriding the governor's vetoes. One bill would end in-state tuition for certain high school graduates who are immigrants without documented legal status.

Multicultural student organizations at the University of Missouri are losing tens of thousands of dollars in direct funding, with school leaders citing federal guidance on diversity, equity and inclusion. “We are not going to let the university lead us into the darkness,” one leader said at a town hall Monday.

The budget bills now go to the Missouri Senate, where they are likely to undergo many changes. The House must also consider several other budget bills, including funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Sincere Davis, a Kansas City high school junior with an intellectual disability, used to doubt that she’d be able to achieve her passion. The Transition Academy offered her job training and connected her with a media internship, as she pursues her career goals of making documentaries.

For years, KU Athletics transferred money to the rest of the university. Now, with a projected $15 million deficit this fiscal year, that payment is gone.

After providing more than $100 million in free plays to lure customers, FanDuel and DraftKings, the sports books dominating the state market, paid no taxes.

Black student enrollment declined almost 34% at the University of Missouri between 2013-2023 — and Black students there have much to say about why.

From 2013-2023, overall enrollment at the University of Missouri fell about 10%, while Black student enrollment declined almost 34%. That's in stark contrast to other state universities around the country — and Black students at Mizzou have much to say about why.