SESSION OF 2023
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2236
As Amended by House Committee on Education
Brief*
HB 2236, as amended, would state that a parent has a
right to direct the education, upbringing, and moral or
religious training of their children. The bill would also direct
local boards of education to adopt policies and procedures to
guarantee the free exercise of these rights and establish a
means by which a parent could remove their child from a
lesson or class based upon objections to the course material.
The bill would define the following terms:
●“Activities” would include any presentation,
assembly, lecture, or other event facilitated by a
school or school district;
○The term would not include student
presentations;
●“Educational materials” would include, but not be
limited to, curriculum, textbooks, reading materials,
videos, digital materials, websites, online
applications, and other material given or provided
to a student for instruction; and
●“Parent” would mean a parent, legal guardian, or
custodian who has authority to act on behalf of a
child.
The bill would allow parents to object to any educational
materials or activities at a school district their child attends
and withdraw the student from the class or programming if
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org the educational material or activity meets one of the following
criteria:
●Is not included in the approved district curriculum
or state educational standards; or
●Impairs the parent’s sincerely held beliefs, values,
or principles.
The bill would state that the academic record of any
student withdrawn from the class, educational program, or
activity based upon the criteria in the bill could not be
adversely affected by the student’s withdrawal.
The bill also would require all local boards of education
to adopt policies and procedures to guarantee a parent’s free
exercise of religion which must contain, but is not limited to,
the implementation of the bill.
Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Education at the request of Representative Thomas.
House Committee on Education
In the House Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was provided by a representative of the Kansas Policy
Institute and a private citizen who is a parent and homeschool
educator. The proponents generally stated the bill is needed
to better address the concerns of parents about the content of
curriculum and educational materials presented to their
children. Written-only proponent testimony was provided by
representatives of the Kansas Catholic Conference, Kansas
Family Voice, and three private citizens.
Opponent testimony was provided by representatives of
the Kansas Association of School Boards, Kansas National
Education Association, and United School Administrators of
2- 2236 Kansas. The opponents generally stated the bill was too
broad and could allow for students to opt out of low
performing classes or assignments. The opponents also
stated the issue should be left to local school boards, some of
whom have independently chosen to adopt parents bill of
rights’ policies. Written-only opponent testimony was provided
by the Kansas PTA, State Board of Education, League of
Women Voters Kansas, and two private citizens.
Written-only neutral testimony was provided by a
representative of Kansas Interfaith Action.
The House Committee amended the bill by replacing
reference to an educational material or activity that harms the
student to instead describe an educational material or activity
that is not included in approved district curriculum or state
educational standards.
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, any fiscal effect would
occur only for school districts and would be negligible.
Education; parents; rights; school districts; children; educational materials and
activities; policies and procedures
3- 2236