KSBRC Discussion Series: New Legislation Update for Kansas School Districts

This webinar will inform you of the new K-12 legislation requirements of Kansas school districts. Kansas state legislators and policy experts will provide clarification and insight into new state laws and regulations to help you understand and fulfill your responsibility and obligation as a school board member and district leader.

Presenters: Mike O’Neal, Senator Molly Baumgardner, and Representative Kristey Williams.

Mike O’Neal is an attorney with over 35 years of litigation experience. Mr. O’Neal also served for 28 years in the Kansas House of Representatives, including two terms as the elected Speaker of the House until the end of the 2012 session. Following his tenure in the Kansas State House, Mr. O’Neal accepted the position of President and CEO of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, where he served for four years before returning to the private sector to lead his own legal consulting and governmental relations firm. He has over 40 years of combined legal, legislative, and governmental relations experience.

Senator Molly Baumgardner (R) serves the residents of the 37th district in the Kansas State Senate. Senator Baumgardner was first elected to the Kansas Senate in 2014. Baumgardner has served as Chair of the Kansas Senate Education Committee since the 2017 Legislative session. She has served as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Joint Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee since 2015 and was Vice-Chair of the Joint Foster Care Oversight Committee in 2021. Baumgardner has served on the following Kansas Senate Committees: Taxation and Assessment, Commerce, Public Health and Welfare, and Judiciary, and as a member, Vice-Chair, and Chair of the Select Education Committee on School Funding. Her professional background is in education, healthcare, and business. She taught at Louisburg High School for seven years and is currently an active member of two USD vocational technology (AV Communications Pathway) advisory boards. In addition, Senator Baumgardner serves as the Communications Coordinator at JCCC in the Marketing and Strategic Communications Department and for the past 18 years as a countywide elected member of the JCCC Board of Trustees.

Representative Kristey Williams (R) serves as the representative for the 77th District and was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 2014 and elected Majority Caucus chair in 2022. Representative Williams brings a vast and varied career and volunteer experience to her perspective as a public servant. Representative Williams taught middle school as a science teacher for five years (and proudly maintains her teaching certification). She left public education to serve her church and her community as a coordinator and fundraiser before being elected as the mayor of Augusta, KS, in 2007, serving for seven years until shethe State of Kan was elected to sas House of Representatives.

REGISTER HERE: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9DVUyGirTNyYov4CYy2lkg#/registration