Takeaways: Lisa Reynolds pulled her son out of school because educators struggled to handle his symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He was called a distraction. Or lazy. He regularly ran into disciplinary issues. Olathe Public Schools or online school — it didn’t make a difference. Special education teachers kept giving him failing grades, and […]
Kansas Government
Posted inState Government
Kansas foster kids could soon pick their families
Takeaways: Kids who age out of foster care face a heightened risk of homelessness, unemployment, drug and drinking problems or stubborn mental health issues. They leave the system with few close, personal connections. But Kansas is preparing for a drastic shift that would give them more say in their lives. The state could be the […]
Posted inKansas State Government
Kansas foster kids could soon pick their families
Takeaways: Kids who age out of foster care face a heightened risk of homelessness, unemployment, drug and drinking problems or stubborn mental health issues. They leave the system with few close, personal connections. But Kansas is preparing for a drastic shift that would give them more say in their lives. The state could be the […]
Posted inState Government
Chiefs, Super Bowl and sports bets. Millions will be wagered, but Kansas will see little
Takeaways: The Kansas City Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl, which means millions more will be wagered in Kansas on the game. But sports betting remains illegal in Missouri — lawmakers continue to wrangle on a law that would change that — and bettors regularly travel to Kansas to wager on who might win […]
Posted inKansas State Government
Chiefs, Super Bowl and sports bets. Millions will be wagered, but Kansas will see little
Takeaways: The Kansas City Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl, which means millions more will be wagered in Kansas on the game. But sports betting remains illegal in Missouri — lawmakers continue to wrangle on a law that would change that — and bettors regularly travel to Kansas to wager on who might win […]
Posted inEducation, Health, Kansas State Government
Here’s how Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly wants to spend the state’s tax dollars
Takeaways: The Kansas budget would include the largest single-year investment in child care under the plan set out by Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday The governor’s recommendations are just one step in the lengthy process of setting a final budget. Proposals to expand Medicaid and invest more in special education and her tax-cut plans draw […]
Posted inKansas State Government
Kansas lawmakers have a budget surplus and want tax cuts. Here’s what they’re thinking for 2024
Takeaways: Kansas lawmakers return to Topeka with a $2 billion-plus surplus and competing ideas on how to spend it. Republicans want things the state’s Democratic governor is sure to veto, and Democrats don’t have the legislative clout to pass their plans. The Beacon asked Republican and Democratic leadership what their priorities are for this session, […]
Posted inKansas State Government
Here’s some ideas Kansas lawmakers have for drumming up more child care
Takeaways: Tory Marie Blew first got on a waiting list for infant care when she got married. She waited over three years before a spot finally opened. Thankfully for Blew, a Republican state representative from Great Bend, Kansas, she wasn’t pregnant when she first signed up. She is now, and the recently-available opening will come […]
Posted inEducation, Kansas State Government
More Kansas teens feel sad or hopeless, but a school program is helping thousands
Takeaways: Anxiety and depression. Eating disorders. Suicide. Among kids. More than one-third of high school students in Kansas reported feeling sad or hopeless for a two-week run or longer in 2021 — slightly below the national average, but at nearly double the rate recorded a dozen years before the pandemic. Kansas spotted the growing youth […]
Posted inKansas State Government
A 15-year-old’s suicide while in Kansas foster care came amid a shortfall in mental health care
Takeaways: A 15-year-old took his own life in October while in the care of a private Kansas foster care agency. That agency, KVC Kansas, fell short of court-mandated benchmarks for getting mental health treatment for children in its care. Yet KVC actually comes closer to hitting the mark than other agencies hired by the state […]