Kansas House Bill HB2428

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/12/26
• Refer: 1/12/26

Caption

Requiring the state board of regents to establish curricula and designate courses at postsecondary educational institutions relating to DEI-CRT-related courses and content and requiring the study of American institutions and certain programs at freshman orientations concerning free speech.

Summary

HB 2428 would direct the Kansas Board of Regents to shape course and curriculum requirements at public postsecondary institutions so students are not required or effectively pushed into courses or programs containing “DEI-CRT-related” content in order to complete an academic program. The bill defines DEI-CRT broadly to include a range of diversity, equity, inclusion, and critical race theory topics, while carving out an exception for programs whose titles clearly show they are primarily focused on racial, ethnic, or gender studies. It also bars institutions from requiring or incentivizing faculty to include DEI-CRT-related content or participate in DEI-CRT practices as part of course approval, evaluation, promotion, tenure, or pay decisions, subject to limited exceptions for compliance with federal civil rights laws and court orders. The bill would also add a new general education requirement for undergraduate students beginning in school year 2027-2028: study of American institutions. That requirement would emphasize constitutional democracy, the U.S. Constitution, federalism, separation of powers, equal protection, free speech, landmark Supreme Court cases, founding documents such as the Declaration of Independence and Federalist Papers, and a comparative discussion of communism and totalitarianism. In addition, freshman orientation programs at public and municipal universities would have to include information on free-expression policies, the First Amendment, viewpoint diversity, and examples of protected unpopular speech, while limiting DEI-CRT-related programming to sessions offered alongside other unrelated topics. Institutions would also have to post orientation materials related to diversity, inclusion, and gender identity online to the extent allowed by law.

Impact

HB 2428 would significantly affect how public universities, municipal universities, community colleges, and technical colleges in Kansas design degree programs, general education requirements, faculty incentives, and freshman orientation programming. It would create new statutory limits on the use of DEI-CRT-related content in required coursework and on institutional pressure placed on faculty to incorporate such material, while preserving academic freedom language and allowing certain federally required compliance training. It would also impose a new statewide general education mandate for American institutions courses and require free-speech-related orientation content, thereby changing institutional curriculum policy and student onboarding practices.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the measure appears to reflect a strong policy preference among its sponsors for viewpoint diversity, free speech, and a more traditional civics-focused curriculum. The bill’s structure suggests support from lawmakers concerned about DEI and critical race theory in higher education, while the lack of recorded opposition in the supplied context prevents a direct read on broader legislative sentiment. Overall, the bill reads as ideologically motivated and likely to be polarizing.

Contention

The main points of contention are likely to be the bill’s broad definition of DEI-CRT-related content and its restrictions on faculty, curriculum design, and program approval. Critics could argue that the measure intrudes on academic freedom, chills classroom discussion, and gives the state board of regents too much control over course content, while supporters would likely argue it prevents compelled ideological instruction and protects students from being forced into DEI/CRT-infused coursework. Another likely dispute is the new American institutions requirement, especially the mandated emphasis on founding documents and the comparative treatment of communism and totalitarianism, which some may view as a necessary civics requirement and others as a politically selective curriculum mandate.