KS - February 20 2025

1. Kansas Schools Get A-F Grades
2. Sedgwick County Eyes Satellite Law School
3. Haskell Seeks Waiver From Layoffs
4. Parsons Man Jailed in Baby Kidnap Attempt
5. Kansas Sets Meat Inspection Hearing

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1. Kansas Schools Get A-F Grades

The Kansas Policy Institute has unveiled its latest A-F grading system evaluating nearly 1,300 public and private schools across the state for the 2023-24 academic year. The comprehensive assessment, based on results from the 2024 state examinations, provides parents and stakeholders with a streamlined way to gauge school performance. Look up your school here.

As the table shows, 1,248 schools were graded based on the 2024 state assessment. Only two schools, one public – Timber Creek Elementary (USD 229) – and one private – Brookridge Day – earned an “A”. Once again this year, no high school in the state (students are tested in the 10th grade) earned an “A”. On the other end of the scale, 62 schools received an “F”. Twenty-five of those are high schools.  

KPI employs state assessment results reported by KSDE and translates raw scores (which range from 220 to 380 for math and for English language arts – ELA) into letter grades. (A full methodology outline, data, and definitions is available on the A-F Grading home page.) This process gives a more concrete explanation of those results.

Article Source: KPI

2. Sedgwick County Eyes Satellite Law School

In Sedgwick County, the idea of a satellite law school — similar to the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita — has begun circulating. The reason? Kansas, especially in rural areas, is struggling to feed the demand for lawyers, in both the private and public sectors. According to a December 2024 report by the Kansas Rural Justice Initiative Committee, for every 1,000 Kansans, there are less than three active attorneys working in the state. Nationwide, there are around four lawyers for every 1,000 residents, according to the American Bar Association. Washburn and KU are the only institutions where people can obtain a legal education in Kansas, and those campuses are just 30 minutes apart. For people who don’t live in northeast Kansas, obtaining a law degree often means, at the very least, putting life on hold for three or more years.  

Editors note: this discussion is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. AI is going to transform law by the time any new campus is built, and legal advice will be more accessible, including in rural areas.

Article Source: Topeka Capitol-Journal

3. Haskell Seeks Waiver From Layoffs

The Board of Regents for Haskell Indian Nations University is seeking a waiver from President Donald Trump’s order requiring massive layoffs across the federal government, citing legal mandates and the university’s unique position in the nation. The Regents submitted a formal waiver request to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and to Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, in letters dated Feb. 17 but publicly released Thursday, six days after the layoffs. The letters state that the abrupt firings have jeopardized the educational mission of the university, which serves 150 Indian nations and tribes throughout the United States. If allowed to stand, the letters say, the layoffs would have “disastrous consequences” for a small university — Haskell has fewer than a thousand students — that is “already underfunded and (that) struggles to fulfill its educational mission.” The Regents state that 35 probationary employees out of 160 total employees at Haskell have been fired, three fewer than the Journal-World previously reported. They list the workforce reduction variously as 23% and 25%, in the first official acknowledgment of the numbers involved.

Article Source: Lawrence Journal World

4. Parsons Man Jailed in Baby Kidnap Attempt

A 31-year-old Parsons man remained jailed Thursday after trying to kidnap a newborn child from Labette Health, according to the Parsons Police Department. A family member stopped the man from leaving the birthing unit with the one-day old. Hospital security then held the man until police arrived. “He had the child in his arms but was stopped by family and gave (the baby) up,” Parsons police Lt. Jason Ludwig said, adding the man is “known to the family” but police weren’t releasing the exact relationship.

Article Source: Wichita Eagle

5. Kansas Sets Meat Inspection Hearing

A public hearing will be conducted at 10 a.m. Feb. 26 to consider changes to the administrative regulations relating to meat and poultry inspection in Kansas. The hearing will be held in person at the Kansas Department of Agriculture at 1320 Research Park Dr. in Manhattan, as well as via video conferencing system. KDA is proposing amendments to two regulations and the revocation of one existing regulation for the administration of the Kansas Meat and Poultry Inspection Act, K.S.A. 65-6a18, et seq. These proposed changes will incorporate the currently adopted federal code sections into a single, complete document that will allow the state meat and poultry inspection program’s regulatory scheme to remain at least equal to that of the federal inspection program.

Article Source: HPJ

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Sources

1. https://kansaspolicy.org/the-2024-edition-of-the-a-f-grading-for-kansas-public-and-private-schools-is-now-available/

2. https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/state/2025/02/20/rural-kansas-attorney-desert-spurs-wichita-satellite-law-school-idea/79217638007/

3. https://www2.ljworld.com/news/general-news/2025/feb/20/gathering-scheduled-to-update-community-on-haskell-after-mass-layoffs-at-university/

4. https://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article300669094.html

5. https://hpj.com/2025/02/19/kda-to-have-hearing-on-meat-and-poultry-regs/