Kansas State Board of Education 2022 Candidate Survey The July 9, 2022 deadline for submission has passed. This form is left for informational purposes, but is no longer active. Section 1: Personal information Are you a member of Equality Kansas? YesNoNo Response Are you a member of the LGBTQ community? YesNoPrefer not to disclose Are you an incumbent office holder? YesNoNo Response If you are an incumbent, what is your current office and district or locality (if applicable)? Section 2: Non-Discrimination & Equal Opportunity Kansas currently has a non-discrimination statute called the Kansas Acts Against Discrimination. It protects people from discrimination based on religion, sex, age, race, ethnicity, and national origin in employment, housing, and public accommodations. It does not include protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Many school districts across the state have added these protections for faculty and staff to their board policies. a. Do you support urging school districts to adopt non-discrimination policies to include sexual orientation and gender identity? YesNoNo Response b. Do you support non discrimination protections for Kansas public schools faculty and staff that are inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity? YesNoNo Response c. If you answered “yes” to the previous question, do you support requiring contractors engaged or hired by school districts to extend non discrimination protections to their employees? YesNoNo Response Section 3: Gender Identity and Expression Transgender and gender non conforming students often face difficulties when their preferred names and pronouns are not used. For example, an educator in a classroom would see a student’s legal name in their class roster as opposed to the name the student prefers to use. While institutions are required to attach legal names to student records, many schools now use systems where these names are “hidden” and the preferred name is seen by most faculty and staff. a. Do you support policies that allow students to use their preferred or chosen name within student record systems and classroom environments? YesNoNo Response b. Do you support policies that allow students to use their preferred pronouns within student record systems and classroom environments? YesNoNo Response In recent years, school districts across Kansas have been responding to the growing awareness of the needs of transgender and gender non conforming children. This has led to controversy over whether transgender and gender non conforming children should use the bathroom for the gender with which they identify. c. Should transgender and gender non conforming children be allowed to use the bathroom for the gender with which they identify? YesNoNo Response d. If you answered NO to the previous question, would you consider providing a unisex bathroom available for use by transgender and gender non conforming students? YesNoNo Response The recently concluded state legislative session saw attempts to pass bills banning participation by transgender youth in school team activities. Proponents of this legislation repeatedly claimed it was focused on “sports” and “athletes,” but the plain language of the bill targeted children as young as five years old for invasive genital inspections. e. Do you support allowing transgender and gender non conforming children, some as young as five, to participate in team activities without being subjected to invasive genital inspections? YesNoNo Response Section 4: School Safety and Bullying Prevention In 2007, the Legislature passed a statute requiring public schools districts in Kansas to adopt policies and develop implementation plans to combat bullying. The statute currently lacks enumerations of protected classes, or any transparency or enforcement provisions. As a result, many school districts across Kansas are not in compliance with the statute. In school districts that have taken steps to follow the law, the quality of compliance varies widely. In general, those districts whose bullying prevention materials are readily available to parents have the qualitatively most comprehensive plans, where those whose materials are difficult to access place little to no emphasis on following the law. a. Do you support school district policies banning bullying by students based on sexual orientation or gender identity? YesNoNo Response b. Do you support requiring school districts to post their bullying policies and implementation plans online, and to file them with the Kansas Department of Education? YesNoNo Response c. Do you support requiring compliance with bullying prevention statutes and policies as a condition of accreditation? YesNoNo Response Section 5: Sex Education There have been ongoing attempts, locally and in the Kansas Legislature, to limit access to comprehensive, age-appropriate sex education in public schools. We believe these policies would put all children, and especially LGBT youth, at risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. a. Do you support a comprehensive, age-appropriate sex education policy? YesNoNo Response Section 6: Classroom and library materials There have been recent controversies over LGBT materials in public schools. Some of these disputes have included demands to remove LGBT materials from classrooms and library shelves. a. Would you oppose efforts to ban age-appropriate materials in school classrooms and libraries simply because they had subject matter dealing with LGBT issues? YesNoNo Response Section 7: Diversity and Inclusion Most middle and high schools in Kansas allow extra curricular student clubs to meet on campus at designated times during the school day, to conduct fundraisers on school property, and to promote themselves and their mission to other students. LGBT students, and their allies, frequently form GSA, or “Gay/Straight Alliance” clubs, in schools across the nation. Although courts have held that LGBT students and clubs must have the same access as all other extra curricular clubs, many schools block or interfere with the formation and/or operation. a. If elected, will you support the right of students to form GSA or similar clubs in schools where extra curricular clubs are otherwise permitted? YesNoNo Response Many school districts have formalized efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in their hiring and personnel policies. These programs have led to more inclusive non discrimination policies. b. Do you support formal DEI programs for Kansas public schools? YesNoNo Response Last section: Other Comments The July 9, 2022 deadline for submission has passed. This form is left for informational purposes, but is no longer active.
