Kansas schools would face statewide misconduct investigations and reporting rules

The attorney general would oversee an education inspector general’s office that can investigate schools, review records, and require corrective action. The office would oversee Kansas public school districts and nonpublic schools serving kindergarten through grade 12, including charter and virtual schools. The attorney general would appoint the inspector general, subject to Senate confirmation. The office’s staffing would depend on separate funding approved for it. The bill says the act would take effect after publication in the statute book; it gives no separate start date for the office.

School employees, agents, administrators, supervisors, and governing bodies who reasonably suspect criminal misconduct would have to report it to law enforcement right away. The rule covers school employees and agents, administrators, supervisors, and governing bodies when they suspect criminal misconduct connected with a school. A school may not begin an internal investigation before the required law enforcement report is made. People who report suspected misconduct in good faith with reasonable suspicion would not be penalized just because a report is later found false or unsubstantiated.

The office would keep a public registry of certain school workers and agents found guilty of covered crimes or determined to have engaged in professional misconduct. The registry would cover licensed teachers and unlicensed school staff and agents who meet the listed crime or misconduct criteria. A person would generally have 30 business days to register after a conviction, diversion agreement, or final misconduct determination; the person could appeal the registration requirement. A person hiring a school employee would have to check the registry before making a job offer. The office could remove someone after five years only if specified safety and conduct conditions are met, or after granting a petition for relief. On and after July 1, 2026, applicants for educator licenses or renewals and applicants for school jobs would have to be fingerprinted and undergo state and national criminal history checks.