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Session of 2026
HOUSE BILL No. 2428
By Representatives K. Williams, Humphries and Lewis
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AN ACT concerning postsecondary educational institutions; requiring the
state board of regents to establish curricula and designate courses at
postsecondary educational institutions; relating to DEI-CRT-related
courses and content; requiring the study of American institutions and
certain programs at freshman orientations concerning free speech.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. (a) Except as provided in subsection (c), the state board of
regents shall establish curricula and designate courses at the postsecondary
educational institutions in a manner that does not require or constrain
students to enroll in a DEI-CRT-related course in order to satisfy the
requirements of any academic program.
(b) An institution, or any administrator, faculty, staff or committee
acting on behalf of such institution, shall not require, solicit or incentivize
faculty to apply or participate in DEI-CRT practices or include DEI-CRT-
related content in any course as a condition of approval, designation or
listing as part of any academic degree program or as a condition of
consideration in any faculty member's performance assessment,
promotion, tenure, salary adjustment or any other incentive, except as
provided in subsection (c).
(c) Academic program requirements whose title clearly establishes its
course of study as primarily focused on racial, ethnic or gender studies
may be exempted in writing by the state board of regents from the
provisions of subsections (a) and (b), subject to the following:
(1) A student may not be required or constrained to enroll in any such
program or course in order to satisfy the requirements of any other
academic program.
(2) Courses offered or listed under such programs shall satisfy the
academic program requirements of such program only and shall not be
used to satisfy degree requirements for any other academic program
beyond satisfying institution credit hour graduation requirements.
(3) The title of any currently established department or academic
program shall not be altered or replaced to establish an emphasis on racial,
ethnic or gender studies.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or restrict the
academic freedom of faculty or prevent faculty members from directing
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the instruction within such faculty member's own class or limit the free
discussion of ideas in a classroom setting.
(e) As used in this section:
(1) "Academic program" includes any credential, certificate or degree
program at a postsecondary educational institution.
(2) "Constrain" means failure during any semester to provide
sufficient open seats in alternative courses for a student to complete or
progress toward completion of an academic program.
(3) "DEI-CRT" means diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race
theory.
(4) "DEI-CRT-related course" means any course whose course
description, course overview, course objectives, proposed student learning
outcomes, written examinations or written or oral assignments for which
the student will receive a grade, include DEI-CRT-related content.
(5) "DEI-CRT-related content":
(A) Means content that does one or more of the following:
(i) Relates any of the following topics to contemporary American
society: Critical theory, whiteness, systemic racism, institutional racism,
anti-racism, microaggressions, systemic bias, implicit bias, unconscious
bias, intersectionality, gender identity, social justice, cultural competence,
allyship, race-based reparations, race-based privilege, race-based or
gender-based diversity, race-based or gender-based equity or race-based or
gender-based inclusion;
(ii) promotes the idea that racially neutral or colorblind laws, policies
or institutions perpetuate oppression, injustice, race-based privilege,
including white supremacy or white privilege, or inequity by failing to
actively differentiate on the basis of race, sex or gender;
(iii) promotes the differential treatment of any individual or groups of
individuals based on race or ethnicity in contemporary American society;
or
(iv) promotes the idea that a student is biased on account of such
student's race or sex; and
(B) does not include identifying and discussing historical movements,
ideologies or instances of racial hatred or discrimination, including, but
not limited to, slavery, Indian removal, the Holocaust or Japanese-
American internment.
(6) "DEI-CRT practices":
(A) Include:
(i) Any requirement or guidance that faculty include or curate
materials on the basis of the race, sex or gender identity of an author or
authors; and
(ii) participating in any workshop, training, seminar or professional
development on any DEI-CRT-related content; and
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(B) do not include any programming explicitly required by, and
limited to, the institution's obligations to comply with title IX of the
education amendments of 1972, as amended, the rehabilitation act of 1973,
as amended, the Americans with disabilities act, as amended, the age
discrimination in employment act, as amended, title VI of the civil rights
act of 1964, as amended, or applicable court order.
(7) "Postsecondary educational institution" or "institution" means any
public university, municipal university, community college and technical
college and includes any entity resulting from the consolidation or
affiliation of any two or more of such postsecondary educational
institutions.
Sec. 2. (a) A postsecondary educational institution shall award
degrees and diplomas on the completion of such courses and curriculum
requirements as such institution deems appropriate in a manner that, for
students completing an undergraduate bachelor's degree program in school
year 2027-2028 and thereafter, shall include among general education
requirements the study of American institutions as described in subsection
(b).
(b) In order for a course to satisfy the American institutions general
education requirement, such course:
(1) Shall include:
(A) An understanding and appreciation of the basic principles of
American constitutional democracy and how they are applied under a
republican form of government, including:
(i) The constitution of the United States and major American
constitutional debates and developments;
(ii) a limited federal government of enumerated powers;
(iii) a federal system that respects the dual sovereignty of the states;
(iv) the separation of powers;
(v) a network of checks and balances;
(vi) equal protection under the law;
(vii) freedom of speech; and
(viii) landmark supreme court cases that have shaped law and society;
(B) significant use of the nation's essential founding documents and
other primary source materials, including significant use of, at a minimum,
the constitution of the United States, the declaration of independence and
the federalist papers, and how such documents have shaped the nature and
functions of American institutions of self-governance; and
(C) a comparative discussion of the impacts of political ideologies of
communism and totalitarianism that conflict with the principles of freedom
and democracy that are essential to the founding principles of the United
States; and
(2) may, if offered as part of a two-course sequence on the
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constitution of the United States, satisfy the requirements of this section
upon a student's completion of both courses, provided that the courses
together meet the content requirements prescribed in this subsection.
(c) As used in this section, "postsecondary educational institution" or
"institution" means any public university or municipal university.
Sec. 3. (a) Freshman orientation programs at postsecondary
educational institutions:
(1) Shall include:
(A) A section describing to all students the policies and rules and
regulations regarding free expression consistent with state and federal law;
and
(B) programming that includes, at a minimum:
(i) The text of the first amendment of the constitution of the United
States;
(ii) resources discussing the principles and importance of free speech
and viewpoint diversity; and
(iii) historical examples demonstrating the necessity of protecting
unpopular speech in the United States and other nations; and
(2) may offer programming pertaining to DEI-CRT-related content
only during orientation sessions in which students are offered a selection
of sessions on unrelated topics comparably promoted or advertised by the
institution.
(b) Each institution shall make available on its website, to the
maximum extent allowed by law, a copy of or link to any audio or video
materials, printed materials or presentation slides distributed or presented
to students as part of the freshman orientation programming related to
diversity, equity and inclusion and gender identity or any DEI-CRT-related
content.
(c) As used in this section, "postsecondary educational institution,"
"institution" and "DEI-CRT-related content" mean the same as defined in
section 1, and amendments thereto.
Sec. 4. If any provision of this act or application thereof to any person
or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other
provisions or applications of this act that can be given effect without the
invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of this act
are declared to be severable.
Sec. 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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