Mainstream Civic Engagement recently honored long-time advocacy partner, Game On for Kansas Schools and Founder Judith Deedy at the annual Stand Up, Speak Out awards lunch.

“Judith is a force in public education advocacy,” said Michael Poppa, Mainstream Executive Director. “She is one of the strongest, most passionate, and most effective advocates for protecting our public schools. Mainstream is honored to have partnered with Game On in our work to stop voucher expansion and make sure that our public schools are free of religious extremism. We couldn't be prouder to consider Judith and the Game On community our friends and allies in our work to protect Kansas public schools.”

This year’s theme, Keep Public Education Public, stressed the need for strong advocates in the fight for church-state separation in Kansas public schools.

“I’m sounding the alarm. I’m not exaggerating when I say we are in an existential battle for public education,” said Deedy. “In Kansas, public education is under attack by several different groups…[including] the Christian nationalists who view public education as we know it–that teaches children from different backgrounds and different religions to get along with and respect one another–as a threat to their worldview and who want instead to get public dollars to fund their religious schools.”

The keynote speaker, Rev. Dr. R. Mitch Randall, CEO of Good Faith Media, is a prominent advocate for constitutional religious liberty. He has served as a plaintiff in multiple cases before the Oklahoma Supreme Court to challenge state-sponsored religious programs and defend the separation of church and state.

“We are in a fight for the survival of public education in the United States, the most important public institution fueling what we know as democracy,” said Randall. “If we lose public education, we will never get it back. To be even more blunt, if public education falls, democracy falls with it. The privatization movement, in partnership with right-wing religious zealots, continues a well-funded assault on teachers, administrators and one of the greatest treasures within the American experiment of self-governance: public education.” You can read his full speech here.

Mainstream is the only statewide advocacy organization in Kansas with the mission to protect religious freedom for everyone through our First Amendment guarantee of church-state separation. During the 2026 legislative session, staff and volunteers advocated against bills that threatened First Amendment rights in public schools, including a school chaplain bill, the expansion of school vouchers, and efforts to impose partisan priorities into public school curriculum and policies.

“The fight to protect public education is getting harder. We have to continue to educate ourselves, to be inspired to take bold action, and to stand up for our First Amendment right of religious freedom for all Kansans,” said Poppa.

For over 30 years, Mainstream has brought together community leaders from elected officials to grassroots advocates to celebrate the power of civic engagement in protecting church-state separation. The Robert H. Meneilly Stand Up, Speak Out Award, named in tribute to Mainstream’s founding chairman, recognizes individuals and organizations who exemplify the core values that inform Mainstream’s mission—respect for civil rights, courage to stand against extremism, and the belief that change begins when we raise our voices for justice and equality. Past honorees include Rabbi Moti Rieber and Kansas Interfaith Action (KIFA), Reverend Cheryl Jefferson Bell, Governor Laura Kelly, Secretary (Governor) Kathleen Sebelius, Thomas Witt of Equality Kansas, Kansans for Fair Courts, and the League of Women Voters of Kansas.