For a moment, it looked as though the Kansas House was about to pass a bill requiring the Kansas Board of Education to develop standards and curriculum guidelines for ethnic studies coursed for students in grades seven through 12. However, as is often the case in the Kansas Legislature, you can’t count your bill as passed until the final vote has been taken. That was definitely the case for an amendment to HB 2532 introduced by Rep. John Alcala, D-Topeka.
The amendment required the development of curriculum for ethnic studies classes, but teaching the course would have been optional for school districts. Although teaching the course would have been optional, Alcala, who is Latino, said the amendment would ensure where the class was taught, everyone was learning the same thing. His amendment passed 70-51.
HB 2532, to which the amendment was added, required teaching financial literacy at every accredited school. It looked as though the bill had the votes to pass, but before the votes were locked in, more than 40 Republicans changed their vote and the bill was defeated 43-81.
Acala says he felt the ethnic studies amendment was the reason the bill failed, but some lawmakers said their decisions to change their vote had nothing to do with the ethnic studies amendment. They told the Capitol Journal they were swayed by a speech by Rep. Don Hineman, R-Dighton.
Hineman gave a speech saying he was voting against the bill because it encroached upon the power of the State Board of Education. After Hineman finished his speech, 27 lawmakers who supported the bill changed their mind.
