Senate Bill 381 referred to the Senate Committee on Education.

3 days ago
2 min read

Hello Riley County Democrats,

I hope you’re doing well and staying warm. On January 26th, Senator Brad Starnes introduced Senate Bill 381 (SB 381), and it has been referred to the Senate Committee on Education.

SB 381 would mandate instruction that specifically targets communist and socialist ideologies and add a new civics test as a graduation requirement, injecting politics into the classroom and creating an unnecessary barrier for students. Rather than trusting educators and existing social studies standards, the bill singles out particular ideologies in statute and reduces civics education to a multiple-choice exam modeled on the naturalization test. It undermines local control, adds unfunded mandates, and solves no demonstrated problem in Kansas schools.

If you’d like to submit testimony in opposition to this bill, here are some helpful resources and information:

Link to the SB 381: https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb381/
Committee Hearing Date: The bill has not been scheduled for a hearing, but according to the legislative calendar, it would have to be soon.
Members of the Senate Committee on Education: https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/committees/ctte_s_ed_1/
- I recommend submitting testimony to individual members of committees to receive a response from them directly. The names of committee members are on the right side of the screen. Click on a name to locate their email address.
Testimony Template and Example: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1INbIcrLUL9xQIY_XalbUwO86bzKuJ7Vd4qKges6n4Uo/edit?usp=sharing
- Feel free to use this template and the testimony example for inspiration. Simply click on the link and download the document to make your own. I also recommend saving a copy of this template to have in case you are compelled to write testimony again in the future.

It’s unfortunate, but not surprising, that we have to remind our Republican legislators that schools are for education, not indoctrination. I hope you’ll consider submitting testimony on SB 381 and other pieces of legislation this session. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions.

Best,

Kelm Lear, Chair