Kansas Starts School Year Short 300 Teachers October 8, 2015

(AP) – Kansas had more than 300 vacant teaching positions at the beginning of this school year.
Officials from the Kansas Department of Education said the numbers showing there were 317 vacant teaching positions in early September are from the first stage of a study the department is conducting to determine why some districts can’t fill certain positions.
The Wichita Eagle reports (http://bit.ly/1hssIWS ) the state Department of Education previously administered a survey for the U.S. Department of Education on teacher demographics. But this year the state started conducting its own deeper survey.
School districts reported their vacant teaching positions as of Sept. 1, and in February will tell the district whether they filled those positions and if not, what factors were responsible.
The Wichita school district had the most vacancies with 64.

Kansas Looks at More Teacher Legislation– Teachers & School Boards September 29, 2015

(AP) – A Legislative committee is seeking information about what would happen if spouses or relatives of school employees aren’t allowed to serve on school boards.

The Wichita Eagle (http://bit.ly/1iYWlAF) reports that the Kansas Legislative Research Department sent out a survey to school board members throughout the state on Friday asking about the issue.

Researcher Martha Dorsey says the request came initially from a committee that will be reviewing the effect of a bill that was introduced during the past session and tabled. The bill would restrict a person from serving on a local school board if his or her spouse, parent or sibling worked for any school district in the state.

The bill also would restrict people who conduct business with school districts from serving on their local school boards.