We miss having Steven Becker in the legislature. Here he explains why we shouldn’t elect Supreme Court Justices. “This session, the Kansas Legislature voted to send Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611 to voters. This proposed constitutional amendment creates the direct partisan political election of Kansas Supreme Court justices. Such elections would be the death knell of an independent judiciary…The majority of the Legislature sadly confuses the court of law with the court of public opinion. “Partisan election of judges conflicts with the very essence of the role of the judiciary. A judge has no constituency. A judge must not...
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Private schools choose students
Private schools are not free and open to all and therefore shouldn’t receive public funds. “In a major victory for public school students, a state district court has ruled that Utah’s universal private school voucher program is unconstitutional…On April 18, 2025, a Utah district court judge struck down the voucher program ruling that the legislature does not have the power to create schools outside the public school system, and therefore any publicly funded education program created by the legislature must comply with all constitutional requirements pertaining to public schools, including that they be free and open to all...
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Leave a Comment Update on State Assessments
What is Proficiency? The Kansas Assessment cut scores are being reset to align with changes to the state education standards. As public school parents and grassroots public education advocates committed to helping patrons stay informed about policies and practices that impact the quality of and access to public education for Kansas school-age youth, we share our perspective regarding efforts to set the new cut scores for the next decade. We hope that the cut scores are significantly changed and that decisionmakers will consider the framework of Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) as a...
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Leave a Comment School choice scholarships waste taxpayer dollars
We don’t want this waste of taxpayer dollars in Kansas and oppose any state or federal legislation that would bring it here. “Families of students receiving school choice scholarships – regardless of their income – can purchase TVs up to 55 inches, the Nintendo Wii and in-home internet. Tickets to Central Florida’s theme parks – Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World – can also be reimbursed, according to purchasing guides from Step Up For Students, the nonprofit that administers nearly all the scholarships… “WESH 2 Investigates has learned from Step Up more than 8,400 students had theme...
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