WICHITA — The race for five seats on the Kansas State Board of Education could dramatically shift the board’s political makeup , which could reshape academic standards or the way schools approach social-emotional learning.
Currently, four of the 10 board members — Michelle Dombrosky, Cathy Hopkins, Dennis Hershberger and Danny Zeck — are conservative Republicans who campaigned in recent elections against what they described as “woke” leanings in public schools.
They spoke out against lessons on racism, sexuality and gender identity, as well as efforts to be more inclusive of trans kids. Several times, the four conservative board members have voted no or abstained on key policy decisions , including allocations to local districts of millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funding.
All eyes on Kansas state school board
This year, three of the board’s moderate members — Deena Horst of Salina, Ann Mah of Topeka and Jim McNiece of Wichita — are not running for reelection. And that worries some public school advocates.