Kansas committee hears bill to let nursing instructors hold one degree higher than programs they teach

A Kansas House committee on workforce development received testimony on HB 2392 on workforce development in nursing, which would allow an instructor—6s highest required credential to be one academic level higher than the program they teach rather than imposing a uniform master—6s requirement.

Proponents said the change would remove a barrier to hiring nursing faculty in areas with limited pools of master—6s-level nurses. "We—6re facing a nursing shortage in Kansas that needs action to address the different bottlenecks throughout our workforce pipeline," said Kylie Childs, director of government affairs for LeadingAge Kansas. "Making this change —1 degree higher than whatever you—6re teaching —1 can help with addressing...location and population issues for various areas." (Kylie Childs, LeadingAge Kansas)

The bill, as presented to the committee, would add language to state approval standards saying faculty must "possess a nursing or directly related medical degree...that is at least one level more advanced than the degree awarded by the program which they're teaching," and that "additional or more advanced credentials shall not be required." The same approach is repeated for practical nursing programs, the Revisor summarized.

Supporters told the committee that the change is intended to streamline requirements across institutions. Childs said the Kansas Board of Regents and accreditors already use similar language that ties instructor credentials to the program level and that the change should not affect accreditation through the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing.

Some legislators raised concerns about curriculum and pedagogy. "I'm always a little concerned when people try to pull back on teacher licensure type of things...How do you teach something is very different than doing it," Representative Poskin said, noting that pedagogical training and curriculum development differ from clinical practice.

Representative Wasinger, a bill supporter, described practical staffing challenges in rural areas: her daughter, who holds a doctorate in nursing, is paid more as a clinical provider than she would be teaching, making it difficult to recruit instructors with two or three degree-level differences in small communities.

Reponses from witnesses and the Revisor clarified scope and limits: the bill addresses only the educational floor for state approval; other legal and regulatory requirements (for example, the Nurse Practice Act and clinical-hour expectations) remain in place and continue to govern experience and other qualifications. Childs said colleges would retain authority to set additional hiring standards and that curriculum development requirements are unaffected by the bill's change to the education-level floor.

The committee recorded proponent testimony and noted neutral and opposition written testimony available in the committee—6s S drive (for example, written neutral testimony from Carol Moreland of the Kansas State Board of Nursing and written support from the Kansas Chamber). Representative Wasinger asked that the committee vote to move the bill forward, but that motion was withdrawn during the meeting; the hearing on HB 2392 was closed with no formal committee vote recorded.

The Revisor and committee members indicated written-only testimony for the record is available in the S drive; no final committee action on HB 2392 was taken in this session.

The committee moved on to a separate hearing on fireworks regulation after closing HB 2392—6s testimony.