Kansas House Bill HB2267

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/4/25
• Refer: 2/4/25

Caption

Prohibiting certain licensed individuals from using conversion therapy on minors.

Summary

HB 2267 would prohibit certain Kansas-licensed health and behavioral health professionals from using conversion therapy on minors. The bill defines conversion therapy as any practice or treatment intended to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, while carving out exceptions for gender-transition support, affirming counseling, and neutral coping or identity-exploration services that do not seek to change orientation or identity. It applies to licensees regulated by the state board of healing arts, the board of nursing, and the behavioral sciences regulatory board, and it expressly covers services delivered through telemedicine. The bill also amends several existing statutes to make this prohibition part of professional discipline and telemedicine law. Under the measure, using conversion therapy on a minor would be treated as unprofessional conduct for nurses and healing arts licensees, and the behavioral sciences regulatory board would be required to adopt rules prohibiting the practice for its licensees. The bill further clarifies that the Kansas telemedicine act does not authorize conversion therapy for minors, and it makes the relevant telemedicine provision nonseverable. It repeals and replaces portions of the cited statutes to incorporate the new prohibition into the state’s licensing and disciplinary framework. The overall sentiment reflected in the bill materials is supportive and protective of minors, with the measure framed as a health and safety regulation rather than a speech or religious restriction. The bill is presented as a committee-originated health and human services proposal, and the caption emphasizes preventing licensed individuals from using conversion therapy on minors. No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no documented recorded opposition or amendment debate in the supplied materials. The main point of contention inherent in the bill is the scope of the prohibition and its interaction with professional practice, telemedicine, and religious counseling. The bill draws a line between licensed clinical treatment and religious leaders acting within religious duties, exempting the latter when they are not acting under a state license. Another likely area of dispute is the definition of conversion therapy and whether the exceptions for support, coping, and identity exploration are sufficiently clear to distinguish prohibited conduct from permissible counseling. Because no discussion transcript is included, these concerns are inferred from the statutory structure rather than from recorded debate.

Impact

HB 2267 would amend Kansas licensing and telemedicine statutes to add a new disciplinary offense for conversion therapy on minors. It would affect licensees regulated by the boards of healing arts, nursing, and behavioral sciences by making the practice grounds for professional discipline, and it would require the behavioral sciences regulatory board to adopt corresponding conduct rules. It also narrows the Kansas telemedicine act by expressly stating that telemedicine may not be used to deliver conversion therapy to minors, while preserving an exemption for religious leaders acting in a non-licensed religious capacity.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have a generally protective, public-health-oriented posture, aimed at safeguarding minors from a practice the bill treats as harmful and professionally improper. The available materials do not include committee testimony, vote counts, or recorded floor debate, so there is no direct evidence of bipartisan support or organized opposition in the provided record. Based on the text alone, the measure is framed as a regulatory and disciplinary update rather than a controversial policy experiment.

Contention

The most notable potential contention is the bill’s restriction on licensed counseling and treatment involving sexual orientation or gender identity, especially the definition of conversion therapy and whether it could be read too broadly. The bill attempts to limit that concern by excluding supportive, affirming, and transition-related care, and by exempting religious leaders performing religious duties outside state licensure. Another possible point of dispute is the application to telemedicine and the use of professional discipline for conduct that some opponents may characterize as counseling rather than therapy. No actual committee debate or vote history was provided, so these are structural points of contention rather than documented objections.