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Kansas Republicans want a flat tax. Here’s why it may not happen
Republicans came close to passing a single-rate tax last year, but key lawmakers remain opposed. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly proposed her own cuts to property taxes, income tax holidays and more. Republicans want a flat tax, but they may not have the votes to get it. The path to a...
Why snow days will be for sledding, not schooling in Wichita
Wichita and Andover public schools give students the day off during snow days instead of doing remote learning. Logistical issues with adjusting lesson plans on short notice and ensuring students have access to the internet and technology drive the decision. A 2021 Kansas law limits how many hours of remote...
Kansas lawmakers have a budget surplus and want tax cuts. Here’s what they’re thinking for 2024
Kansas lawmakers start the year with a $2 billion-plus surplus, but competing priorities make it unclear what will happen. The Republican-controlled Legislature and the Democratic governor disagree on taxes. Addressing a chronic child care shortage enjoys bipartisan support. Kansas lawmakers return to Topeka with a $2 billion-plus surplus and competing...
Kansas physicians ditch rules treating white people’s kidney disease more seriously
American medicine had long used different measures for Black patients when judging the severity of kidney disease. Those standards meant worse outcomes for people of color, delaying treatment and the possibility of transplants. A change in 2020 has eliminated race as a factor in the algorithm for assessing kidney health.
Attending a school outside your district is getting easier in Kansas. Not everyone’s happy
Imagine you’re a parent and your child goes to Northwest High School in Wichita. The Maize public school district sits nearby, a wealthier community where graduation rates and ACT scores run higher. If you’d wanted to enroll your children in Maize in fall 2023, the school district would have...
Here’s some ideas Kansas lawmakers have for drumming up more child care
Kansas needs more slots to meet the demand. One estimate said the state is 84,000 spots short. State lawmakers are studying the issue and say this is a priority. The state’s funding model has come under fire, but it isn’t clear how much it’ll change. Tory Marie...
Did a Goddard teacher cross a line by teaching Christian music to students?
Two specific songs,“Praise His Holy Name” and “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” — and concerns about how the teacher presented them to students — sit at the center of a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The post Did a Goddard teacher cross a line by teaching Christian music to students? appeared first on The Wichita Beacon.
More Kansas teens feel sad or hopeless, but a school program is helping thousands
More students are feeling sad and hopeless both in Kansas and nationwide. Mental health centers are helping get those students the help they need. The state Legislature has some some ideas for future fixes. Anxiety and depression. Eating disorders. Suicide. Among kids. More than one-third of high school students in...
Deaf Kansans struggle getting legal help. The state is trying to change that
Deaf and hard of hearing Kansans may not meet with lawyers because of the communication barrier. There is a fund to fix this problem, but it isn’t being used enough. Not enough lawyers know how to request an interpreter. A deaf Kansas woman going through a divorce signed a...
Wichita Public Schools students will need more than coursework to earn a diploma
Kansas eighth graders need more than required classes to get their high school diplomas. New requirements approved by the Kansas State Board of Education insist that students complete two “postsecondary assets” — achievements or experiences that prepare them for higher education or the workforce — before they can walk across the stage.
Years of nurse shortages culminate in second strike in six months at two Ascension hospitals
After a monthslong struggle against cost-cutting measures, nurses at two Ascension Via Christi hospitals in Wichita went on strike for the second time in six months on Dec. 6 as negotiations dragged between the union and the state’s largest health care provider. Ascension Via Christi’s St. Francis and St....
A Wichita young professional dreams of living downtown, but it’s tough to overcome high rents
Kyle Ritterbush is one of the young, entrepreneurial professionals Wichita politicians talk so much about wanting to keep. At just 20 years old, he started his video production business last year after graduating high school. He wants to grow it – hiring someone part-time, taking on bigger projects – all while here in Wichita.
Kansas foster kids need mental health care, but trying to add more is expensive
Foster kids are more likely to need mental health care and more likely to be on Medicaid. Medicaid reimbursements rates often don’t reimburse foster care agencies for the true cost of some services. Foster care agencies are providing additional treatment because they believe that treatment is critical for the...
Syphilis rates climbed by over 2,000% in Sedgwick County in the last decade
For the first dozen-plus years of this century, syphilis was a rarity in Sedgwick County. Fewer than one of every 100,000 residents had the sexually transmitted disease. But in the last decade — mirroring a national trend made worse by the isolation and shifting behaviors spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic — the rate has skyrocketed […] The post Syphilis rates climbed by over 2,000% in Sedgwick County in the last decade appeared first on The Wichita Beacon.
A 15-year-old’s suicide while in Kansas foster care came amid a shortfall in mental health care
It isn’t clear what the agency did or did not know about the child’s mental health needs before his death. Kansas foster care agencies still struggle to provide mental health services. There is improvement in the system, even though there are still gaps in mental health coverage. A...
Kansas regulators give Evergy a smaller electrical rate hike than it asked for
Kansas regulators scaled back Evergy’s proposed electric rate hikes, saving Kansas City area customers $6.07 a month. Evergy’s central Kansas customers, formerly Westar customers, face a monthly increase of $4.64, less than the utility requested. The Kansas Corporation Commission settled on a 3.54% revenue increase, lower than Evergy’s...
Two killings, two very different cash bonds — and a debate about fairness in Wichita
Sedgwick County prosecutors charged 19-year-old Daryon Boone with first-degree murder in the September shooting death of a 69-year-old woman in Wichita. They charged 16-year-old Makyh Townes with second-degree murder in what his family contends was the accidental shooting of a friend several months earlier. Boone, who’s white, was released after posting a $500,000 bond. Townes, […] The post Two killings, two very different cash bonds — and a debate about fairness in Wichita appeared first on The Wichita Beacon.
Wichita’s first school board election under new system draws more voters
In the first election under USD 259’s new district-based school board election system on Tuesday in Wichita, results show voter turnout went up and moderates won over conservatives. Last year, Wichita voters changed the way school board members are elected in the state’s largest school district. Previously, all...
Kansas judge blocks 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions
A Kansas judge has temporarily blocked several of the state’s longstanding abortion restrictions, including a 24-hour waiting period that providers say has resulted in hundreds of women being denied abortions. In an order released Monday, Johnson County District Judge K. Christopher Jayaram wrote that the restrictions “(appear) to be...
Red tape and income limits have booted 82,000 Kansans off Medicaid since May. How can they get back on?
Robyn Adams struggled to support her husband and teenage daughter on $16,000 a year during the pandemic. Then the pandemic ended and her family lost its Medicaid coverage. “We went into panic,” she said. The family relied on a temporary expansion of coverage authorized by the federal government during the pandemic to weather the bills […] The post Red tape and income limits have booted 82,000 Kansans off Medicaid since May. How can they get back on? appeared first on The Wichita Beacon.
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