TOPEKA — A coalition of Kansas faith leaders and education advocates are calling on lawmakers to reject legislation currently being drafted to ban or restrict teaching about U.S. racial history.
More than 50 people gathered Tuesday on the first floor of the Capitol in Topeka to rally against what they considered a concerted effort to dismantle diversity and inclusion initiatives at Kansas public schools. One such measure would establish a parental bill of rights, creating a series of transparency checks to ensure parents have knowledge of all material made available in school.
House Bill 2662 also compromises the affirmative defense for schools and educators if somebody charges them with promoting material harmful to minors. The House K-12 Education Budget Committee is set for a hearing on the measure Wednesday.