SESSION OF 2025
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2140
As Recommended by House Committee on
Education
Brief*
HB 2140 would create a Drug Abuse Resistance
Education (DARE) Educator position within the Office of the
Attorney General. The bill would permit additional staff as
necessary, within the limits of available appropriations.
Continuing law provides for a Statewide DARE
Coordinator within the Office of the Attorney General, who is
tasked with assisting law enforcement agencies and schools
in creating DARE programs and training law enforcement
officers on how to teach the DARE curriculum.
The bill would direct the Attorney General to appoint a
Statewide DARE Educator who would be required to:
●Provide instruction on drug abuse using a
curriculum approved by the Attorney General that
includes content on fentanyl and other opioid drugs
to students in public elementary and secondary
schools;
●Report annually to the Legislature on any
modifications to the curriculum utilized by the
Attorney General and provide the names and
addresses of the public schools serviced by the
program; and
____________________
*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
https://klrd.gov/ ●Perform other services and provide material and
information as required to support the DARE
Program in Kansas.
Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Education at the request of Representative Essex.
House Committee on Education
In the House Committee hearing, Representative Essex
and representatives of the Office of the Attorney General,
Spring Hill Police Department, and Johnson County Sheriff’s
Office provided proponent testimony. The proponents
generally discussed the inconsistent application of drug
education, the opioid crisis, and the new facets of the DARE
program. Conferees stated the DARE educator would be an
optional resource for schools.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by
Kansas’ Statewide DARE Coordinator and a representative of
DARE America.
No other testimony was provided.
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, the Office of the Attorney General
indicated that it would be required to hire a 1.0 DARE
Educator position. For FY 2026, the agency would require
$104,468 from the State General Fund. Of that amount,
$75,298 would be used to hire 1.0 DARE Educator position
and $29,170 would be for training, travel, and supplies for the
new position. For FY 2027, the required amount would
increase to $109,691 from the State General Fund to account
2- 2140 for changes in benefit costs and inflation for operating
expenditures.
The State Department of Education indicated the bill
would not have a fiscal effect for the Department.
Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not reflected
in The FY 2026 Governor’s Budget Report.
Education; Attorney General; drug abuse resistance education; DARE Program
3- 2140