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The Wichita Beacon
These bills could change funding, hiring and enrollment in Wichita Public Schools
Pending education bills could hurt Wichita Public Schools by changing how to count enrollment — and allot state tax dollars. The district is pushing for alternative ways to certify teachers amid a shortage in classrooms. The district wants the state to fulfill its commitment to funding 92% of special...
How much can the tax money Kansas might spend on child care help?
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly wants to spend another $30 million on grants for day care operators to expand. But the $55 million the state has already spent added only 5,500 child care openings. The post How much can the tax money Kansas might spend on child care help? appeared first on The Wichita Beacon.
Students need guidance on AI. Are Wichita schools ready?
Wichita-area schools are taking a cautious approach to letting students access new artificial intelligence tools, like ChatGPT, in the classroom. Many educators are focused on preventing students from cheating with AI, but others say they need more nuanced guidance on a technology that could pervade their lives. Some teachers in...
This mother wants an ADHD specialist in every Kansas school district
Students with ADHD are less likely to do well academically. A Kansas parent wants to change that. A proposed law would require districts to have specialists trained in addressing the unique needs of students with ADHD. A strong teacher-student relationship is key in addressing the challenges faced by students with...
Wichita joins City Bureau’s Documenters Network to bridge the gap between the public and public meetings
Members of the Wichita Journalism Collaborative, The Kansas Leadership Center (KLC), and the Wichita Foundation are partnering with City Bureau, a nonprofit civic journalism lab, to bring the Documenters Network to Wichita. The new participatory journalism initiative is making public meetings more transparent and accessible, training and paying Wichita residents...
Chiefs, Super Bowl and sports bets. Millions will be wagered, but Kansas will see little
Missouri residents can make legal sports bets visiting Kansas casinos or using their betting apps — when they’re within the state’s borders. Bettors have wagered nearly $3 billion in legal sports bets since legalization. The state has taken home around $12 million. The Missouri General Assembly has...
Kansas public defenders got raises. But their dissatisfaction with pay almost doubled
Kansas lawmakers gave public defenders raises in recent years, slowing turnover from 20% to 8.6% a year. Despite the raises, concerns over pay remain. So, too, do caseload concerns. Disparities in pay between public defenders and prosecutors remain. Starting pay for public defenders runs 20% lower than prosecutors in Sedgwick...
More Kansas mothers, especially women of color, are dying after giving birth. Where can Wichitans go for help?
Kansas looks to be an increasingly dangerous place to give birth, especially for women of color. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that maternal deaths per 100,000 live births within a month and a half of giving birth nearly doubled nationwide between 2018 and 2021. A disproportionate number of Black mothers made […] The post More Kansas mothers, especially women of color, are dying after giving birth. Where can Wichitans go for help? appeared first on The Wichita Beacon.
A Kansas business tax credit can offset the cost of child care. But almost nobody uses it
A tax credit designed to help businesses offset child care costs is largely unused despite high costs for child care in Kansas. The major challenges include the limited awareness and accessibility of the tax credit. Expanding child care can help people get back into the workforce. The child care shortage...
Know your rights: How to ensure a child with disabilities can get a better public education in Kansas
Jeanette Harding’s son is a gifted student. He’s also autistic. Most of his Wichita Public Schools teachers know how to work with his strengths and weaknesses, Harding said. “They’re really great about finding a way to get something that they can grade, something that shows the skill they’re...
A young Wichita couple become first-time homebuyers — by acting fast
Carla Mendez and Jacob Salas spent just three days shopping for their first home. It was either that, or miss out on the place the young couple fell in love with. The open dining room and living room connect to the kitchen that comes with new appliances. And it sports a patio off the living […] The post A young Wichita couple become first-time homebuyers — by acting fast appeared first on The Wichita Beacon.
Here’s how Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly want to spend the state’s tax dollars
This is the first step in the budget process, and Republicans have already objected to some funding goals. The governor and key lawmakers do support spending taxpayer dollars on child care. Kansas has a budget surplus of over $2 billion. How it is spent is a key issue in this...
Where to go in Wichita if you fall in the Medicaid gap
Kansas remains one of 10 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid, leaving 40,000-plus people in the state without government health insurance — or subsidies for private coverage. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly still wants the Legislature to expand that coverage — and so do more than two-thirds of Kansans. But...
An EPA grant is helping Kansas foster kids get environmental jobs
The grant funds a program that provides job training and certifications in environmental fields to foster kids. The program aims to train a workforce capable of cleaning up polluted brownfield sites — unused, polluted plots of land. Foster youth are more likely to be unemployed, food insecure or homeless.
Wichita counted 42 homeless deaths last year, but the count is suspect
At least 42 homeless people died in Wichita in 2023. But the actual number could be bigger. Neither Sedgwick County nor Wichita keeps records of people who die without stable housing. “We simply don’t have metrics,” said Shelly Steadman, the director of the regional forensic center in Sedgwick County. Without reliable data, it is harder […] The post Wichita counted 42 homeless deaths last year, but the count is suspect appeared first on The Wichita Beacon.
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