War on educators continues

A year after Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, had the good sense to shelve a bill easing the prosecution of teachers and principals for exposing students to material deemed harmful to minors, the measure passed the Senate Wednesday and headed to the House.

And so advances the Legislature’s war on educators, with the collateral damage sure to include Kansas’ reputation.

Credit three area senators for being among 14 “no” votes: Michael O’Donnell, R-Wichita; Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick; and Oletha Faust-Goudeau, D-Wichita.

This should have ended where it started – with one middle school teacher’s poor decision to display a sex-education poster in the Shawnee Mission district being dealt with locally.

Instead, that incident inspired Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, R-Shawnee, to seek a state law treating teachers like pornography pushers.

Senate Bill 56, under which teachers could be charged for violation of a class B nonperson misdemeanor, need not lead to one actual prosecution to do damage. Its passage would have a chilling effect, with teachers self-censoring their choices of literature, artworks and scientific concepts to study in class on the chance someone might take offense, judge the material at odds with “contemporary community standards” or lacking literary or educational merit – and find a sympathetic ear in the district attorney’s office.

If Kansas students are to emerge from K-12 classrooms as critical thinkers ready for college or careers, they need educators who are trusted and free to teach. It’s time Statehouse leaders stopped their assault on teachers’ bargaining and other employment rights, and professionalism in general.

For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman

This story was originally published February 25, 2015 at 6:08 PM with the headline "War on educators continues."