Kansas education committee hears wide-ranging debate on HB 2299 after AG and advocates testify

The House Committee on Education heard extended testimony on HB 2299, a proposal to prohibit discrimination and antisemitism in public K–12 and postsecondary institutions and to give the Kansas Attorney General new investigatory and enforcement powers.

The bill, as explained by committee staff and the reviser, would add a standalone section applying to public educational institutions, allow aggrieved persons — including minors acting through a parent or guardian — to file complaints directly with the attorney general, and authorize the attorney general to subpoena witnesses and documents and assess civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. The reviser also told the committee that one section of the draft contained a drafting error on page 12 and circulated a balloon amendment to correct that error.

Supporters said the measure is needed to address what they described as a recent spike in antisemitic incidents on campuses and in K–12 schools. Adam Baron, founder of the Combat Antisemitism Movement and an owner of an energy business in Wichita, told the committee the bill “will help to address discrimination in public K through 12 and postsecondary institutions right here in Kansas.” David Sofer and other Jewish community representatives recounted incidents at state campuses and urged the panel to adopt the bill. Neda Meltzer of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau (AJC) said many Jewish students report not feeling safe on campus and cited a fall 2024 survey in which students described harassment and threats.

Attorney General Chris Kobach, the first conferee, framed the bill in legal terms and emphasized First Amendment limits. “The…