Kansas Board of Education

In this and previous elections, conservatives frustrated with Kansas public school policies have secured seats on the state board by speaking out against social-emotional learning and advocating for parents' rights.

Members of the Kansas State Board of Education say they want to offer guidelines to local districts but don’t plan to impose statewide restrictions. Cellphone policies, like budget or curriculum decisions, are ultimately up to local school boards.

November’s election will decide half the seats on the Kansas Board of Education, which oversees public schools across the state. Those races could dramatically shift the board's political and ideological balance. Plus: University of Missouri students are worried about the future of diversity programs on campus.

Voters in November will decide five of the 10 seats on the Kansas Board of Education. The results could shift the political and ideological balance on the board, which could affect what Kansas students learn in classrooms.

Board member Danny Zeck, a Republican from Leavenworth, alternately cursed, waved books he objected to, and raised concerns about the “Marxist lesbian” in charge of the American Library Association during a Kansas State Board of Education meeting this week, as other board members tried to redirect the conversation.

The Urban Youth Academy helped plant the Kansas City Royals' flag in the Historic 18th and Vine district, but many residents of nearby neighborhoods have only mustered lukewarm acceptance. Will the lack of enthusiasm affect the push for a new downtown ballpark? Plus: Kansas lawmakers want a quicker switch to teaching reading in a way that actually works.

Research shows that most children need systematic, sound-it-out instruction — commonly called phonics — rather than older approaches that focus on context clues from pictures and stories.

The Kansas House last week narrowly passed a "school choice" bill that would shift public tax dollars to private schools, much to the frustration of public school leaders and Gov. Laura Kelly. The Kansas State Board of Education opposes the bill, saying there's no way to track how students are doing.

Unofficial results show four seats on the Kansas State Board of Education were won by conservative candidates who want to restrict how race and social-emotional learning are taught in schools.

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.

In the race for the District 3 seat on the Kansas Board of Education, voters will choose between two candidates who diverge on curriculum, how schools discuss mental health and other hot-button issues.

An advisory group created by the Kansas Board of Education wants the board to recommend ending Native American mascots statewide — a move sure to trigger anger and defensiveness in communities long wedded to school traditions.