Mainstream Messenger: What to Expect from the KS Leg Week 6 -
Urgent Action Needed to Stop School Vouchers and Protect LGBTQ+ Kids
Hi Mainstream supporter,
Despite the bad weather coming our way, the KS Leg is still moving towards a full week of action before Turnaround Day on Feb 20. We're expecting the legislature to take up the veto vote on the gender affirming care ban, SB 63, starting Tuesday, as well as floor votes on the latest voucher bills. Here's what Mainstream is following this week and how you can take action to protect church-state separation.
Stay informed with Mainstream's bill tracking tool, #KSLeg Watch! We're keeping eyes on bills that threaten church-state separation and embrace the Christian Nationalist agenda.
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KEEP CONTACTING YOUR LEGISLATORS TO OPPOSE VOUCHERS!
Last week the Senate Education Committee passed out two bills that promote their voucher agenda -- SB 75 and SB 87. We're hearing that the Senate will take up both bills starting Tuesday, so we need you to contact your Senator and tell them to vote no!
Mainstream opposes these voucher programs because beyond being wrong for our public schools and students, they also continue to chip away at church-state separation. In the last two decades, courts have sided with pro-voucher states, deciding that public funds for private, religious schools does not violate our First Amendment rights. We strongly disagree, as do voters in every state where school vouchers are put to a ballot, and we stand against further attempts to break down the wall between church and state.
TAKE ACTION:
- Contact your Senato NOW to let them know you oppose SB 75 & SB 87 and any efforts to divert public dollars away from public schools.
- Read our testimony on SB 75 here and SB 87 here.
- Read more about how to take action to stop vouchers and fully fund special education from our friends at Six Degrees of Activism here.
PROTECT TRANS KIDS
On Monday, the House Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care held a hearing on HB 2311 -- a bill that would privilege extremist religious beliefs regarding gender identity and sexual orientation over the welfare of a child being placed in foster care or for adoption.The bill received proponent testimony from 6 individuals -- none of whom could cite a Kansas example of a need for this bill. Over 60 opponent testimonies were submitted, with Mainstream and several other individuals speaking out against the harms of this bill. The committee passed the bill despite the objections of several members who argued that the process was rushed, the bill was unclear and unnecessary, and harmed LGBTQ+ youth.
This is in line with the anti-LGBTQ+ agenda being advanced by the majority party of the KS Legislature and federal administration. Our queer youth, and especially our trans youth, are being attacked by legislators who seem to have no end to their need to bully and discriminate against this community.
Help us show up in strength against these harmful bills. Contact your legislators today and tell them hate has no place in Kansas. We support our LGBTQ+ community, and object to the legislature's abuse of "religious freedom" to attack queer and trans youth.
TAKE ACTION: Contact your legislator to ask them to protect trans kids.
- Email your legislator now to ask them to sustain the veto on SB 63.
- Call and email your KS Representative and tell them to vote no on HB 2311 when it comes up for a floor vote this week.You can read our testimony on HB 2311 here and watch our verbal testimony here and our response when Representative Humphries tried to justify the bill here.
- Call and email your KS Senator and tell them to vote no on SB 76, which would prevent our educators from affirming trans gender identities in school settings.You can read our testimony on SB 76 here.
SAFE AND LEGAL ABORTION IS AT RISK
Most of the introduced anti-abortion bills haven't gone through the committee hearing process, but there's still the opportunity for leadership to bless the bills by moving them to exempt committees so they aren't subject to the turnaround deadline.
One bill we do expect to move this week is HB 2062 -- establishing fetal personhood by allowing for the collection of child support for "unborn children." This passed out of committee earlier this month and is expected to be voted on by the House floor this week.
TAKE ACTION:
- Contact your Representative to let them know you oppose HB 2062 and any efforts to make it harder for Kansans to access safe and legal abortions.
- Read our testimony on HB 2062 here.
Want to Advocate for church-state separation but not sure how?
Check out Mainstream's newest resource, our 2025 Religious Freedom Advocacy Toolkit!
CAN WE COUNT ON YOU?
Mainstream is a small team of advocates, and we need your support to continue providing these kinds of updates, action alerts, and advocacy inside the statehouse. Please consider becoming a member or making a tax-deductible donation to our Civic Engagement Foundation.
