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KS SB491
Bill
Status
2/5/2026
Primary Sponsor
Education
Click for details
AI Summary
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Establishes the Office of Education Inspector General within the Kansas Attorney General's office to investigate professional and criminal misconduct in K-12 public and private schools, with authority to conduct audits, issue subpoenas, and recommend corrective actions including license revocation
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Creates a public Education Misconduct Registry where individuals convicted of crimes or found to have engaged in professional misconduct must register within 30 business days, with information searchable by name, school, and misconduct type
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Requires all school employees, agents, and license applicants to undergo state and national fingerprint-based criminal background checks effective July 1, 2026
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Mandates immediate reporting of suspected criminal misconduct to law enforcement and reporting of professional misconduct to the Inspector General within 24 hours, with whistleblower protections prohibiting retaliation against reporters
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Authorizes civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation for individuals or governing bodies who fail to comply with reporting requirements, obstruct investigations, or enter into nondisclosure agreements concealing employee misconduct
Legislative Description
Enacting the Haylee Weissenbach protecting students act to establish the office of education inspector general, authorize the education inspector general to conduct audits, investigations and reviews of educational institutions, require reporting of suspected professional and criminal misconduct by school employees and agents, require certain individuals to register on an educator misconduct registry, require criminal history record checks of school employees and agents and provide for civil penalties for violations of this act.
Last Action
Senate Hearing: Monday, March 2, 2026, 1:30 PM Room 144-S
3/2/2026