Session of 2025
HOUSE BILL No. 2348
By Committee on Judiciary
Requested by Representative Howe on behalf of Steven Lovett
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AN ACT concerning higher education; providing that tenure at
postsecondary educational institutions shall not be defined, awarded or
recognized as an entitlement, right or property interest in a faculty
member's current, ongoing or future employment by an institution.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. (a) An award of tenure may confer certain benefits,
processes or preferences, but tenure shall be discretionary and conditional
and shall not, nor shall it be interpreted to, create any entitlement, right or
property interest in a faculty member's current, ongoing or future
employment by an institution.
(b) The board of regents and any institution shall not define, award or
otherwise recognize tenure as an entitlement, right or property interest in a
faculty member's current, ongoing or future employment by an institution.
(c) No award of tenure by the board of regents or any institution in
existence on the effective date of this act shall be considered or deemed an
entitlement, right or property interest in a faculty member's current,
ongoing, or future employment by an institution.
(d) Any special benefits, processes or preferences conferred on a
faculty member by an institution's award of tenure can be at any time
revoked, limited, altered or otherwise modified by the awarding institution
or by the state board of regents.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted or used to infringe or
abrogate a faculty member's otherwise constitutionally protected rights or
interests.
(f) As used in this section:
(1) "Faculty" means any unclassified employee of any institution
whose primary duties include teaching or research, regardless of rank or
title, except employees who are employed under an employment contract;
(2) "institution" means any postsecondary educational institution as
defined in K.S.A. 74-3201b, and amendments thereto;
(3) "state board of regents" means the same as defined in K.S.A. 76-
711, and amendments thereto; and
(4 ) "tenure" means a feature of employment that:
(A) Shall be affirmatively granted by an institution at its discretion in
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recognition of meritorious performance and thereafter conditioned on
future meritorious performance; and
(B) may conditionally confer special benefits, processes or
preferences.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the Kansas register.
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