By Morgan Chilson
TOPEKA — Kansas public school students raising their voices in protest during school hours will need parental permission to leave school grounds to attend a rally or protest event after legislative action Friday.
The House and Senate overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s line-item veto in the budget bill to enact a proviso that will punish youth for skipping school to attend a protest.
In early March, both chambers passed legislation to clamp down on public school protests by requiring students to receive parental permission before participating and hitting school districts with penalties as high as $100,000 per day if they’re complicit in organizing or encouraging the events or if they don’t enforce restrictions. Fines would go to the state general fund.
In addition, students must make up an instructional day if they walk out for a protest.
Sen. Silas Miller, D-Wichita, said he had concerns that people who didn’t agree with the reason for the protest might file complaints, which could result in bounty-like situations in which schools are fined.
“The next thing you know, there’s a bunch of money being spent on investigations and people getting in trouble, even if the students did get their parental consent,” he said.
Many legislators spoke about freedom of speech rights and the importance of protest in the United States’ history.
Both Kelly in her veto and Democratic lawmakers on the House floor noted it was ironic that Republicans uniformly supported a bill honoring slain activist Charlie Kirk and students’ rights to free speech, then penalized school districts and students if they exercise those rights.
Sen. Pat Pettey, D-Kansas City, said the legislature was giving mixed signals in its treatment.
“We, on one hand, are passing legislation to protect the freedom of our students, whether at the university level and our public schools, and on the other hand, saying, ‘But no, we don’t like the way you’re talking right now or how you’re behaving right now, so we’re going to do just the opposite,’” she said.
Sen. Cindy Holscher, an Overland Park Democrat who is running for governor, said a student called to ask her if this bill would have been introduced if students had walked out to protest Kirk’s death. Instead, several school walk-outs protested Immigrations and Customs Enforcement activities.
“I hope people ponder that question. Who are we protecting free speech for and who are we penalizing?” she said. “Free speech rights do not end at the schoolhouse door.”
Rep. Rui Xu, a Westwood Democrat, spoke directly to any students who might be listening.
“They want you to just sit down and be quiet,” he said. “You are not troublemakers. Like our forefathers, you are being engaged citizens. The moment that the government starts writing laws that silence the youngest voices is the moment that your voices become the most important ones in the room.”
Proponents agreed that Kansas students have the right to free speech, but said they need to express themselves outside school hours.
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