Bills affecting Person with a disability in Kansas — 2026 session

Permitting a person with a disability to be issued one special license plate for each vehicle owned, registered and operated by such person.

Directing the state registrar of vital statistics to provide death certificates to survivors of deceased veterans with a service-connected disability that state in such certificates the relationship between the cause of death and the service-connected disability of such veterans.

Adding certain third parties who contract with school districts to the definition of special teacher and authorizing special education state aid reimbursement for qualified teachers who provide approved special education or related services to students with an IEP administered by such school district pursuant to a contract.

Authorizing a special education pilot program that provides provisional accreditation to a private entity for the purpose of operating a special education teacher training program, allowing such entity to collect data from such program and providing requirements for full accreditation of such program.

Requiring the department of health and environment in coordination with the Kansas department for aging and disability services to seek federal approval to establish continuous medicaid eligibility for certain individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities who are receiving services through a home and community based services waiver, requiring the secretary for children and families and the secretary of health and environment to enter into data-matching agreements with state agencies to verify eligibility for food and medical assistance, directing the department of health and environment to submit certain data to the centers for medicare and medicaid services, prohibiting certain public assistance program waivers or exemptions without legislative approval, prohibiting self-attestation for purposes of determining eligibility for public assistance programs, limiting retroactive enrollment in the medical assistance program, increasing the age limit for able-bodied adults without certain dependents and prohibiting certain exemptions from work requirements under the food assistance program.

Authorizing retirement and disability benefits under KPERS, KP&F and the retirement system for judges to be paid on either a biweekly or monthly basis at the option of a member or recipient.

Increasing transfers from the lottery operating fund, to the community crisis stabilization centers fund and the clubhouse model program fund of the Kansas department for aging and disability services.

Providing for the regulation of supplemental nursing services agencies and healthcare workers platforms by the secretary for aging and disability services.

Including children with fetal alcohol syndrome disorder under the definition of other health impairment in the special education for exceptional children act.

Establishing the mental health intervention team program in the Kansas department for aging and disability services in state statute and providing incentives for coordination between school districts, qualified schools and mental health intervention team providers.

Enacting the career advancement, resources, employment and supports for the disability workforce act, providing for career education programs for students and career enhancement programs for professionals, requiring performance-based contracting for disability services providers, facilitating choice in services by individuals with disabilities, mandating rate parity across all state waiver programs, providing for an online data portal system for waitlist management and services-related communications, requiring the secretary of labor to publish information regarding the disability service provider workforce and providing that direct support workers may be covered by the state health plan.

Directing the secretary for aging and disability services to expand and establish peer support specialist certifications and the secretary for health and environment to pursue a medicaid code for telehealth services provided by peer support specialists.

Requiring all applicants for teaching licenses and certificates and employees of a school district or public innovative district to submit to a criminal history record check and creating the criminal history record check reimbursement fund for certain state and criminal history record checks conducted by the Kansas department for aging and disability services.

Removing the state fire marshal from the adult care home licensure act and the providers of disability services act and requiring the state fire marshal to complete training in person-centered care and responding to individuals with Alzheimer's disease and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Requiring proposed guardians for certain adults who have a cognitive impairment or are diagnosed with a neurological condition to complete training approved by the secretary for aging and disability services prior to appointment as a guardian.

Permitting the issuance of a special license plate or permanent or temporary placard for a person with a disability based on documentation of satisfactory proof of disability from a physical therapist.

Relating to housing code requirements, removing the definition of apartment houses from chapter 31 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, providing requirements for adoption of the international fire code, 2024 edition, and providing that certain state accessibility standards are not applicable to moderate income housing program and Kansas investor tax credit housing act projects.

Providing for the administration of statewide assessments to virtual school students by such students' virtual schools, adding third parties who contract with school districts to the definition of special teacher, providing for special education state aid reimbursement for certain qualified teachers, authorizing nonpublic schools to permit nonaccredited private elementary or secondary school students to participate in certain activities and authorizing foreign exchange students who reside with a host family to enroll in and attend the resident school district of the host family.

Requiring the secretary for aging and disability services and the city of Osawatomie to execute and record an amendment to the original deed for conveyance of certain real property in Miami county that amends the reversionary interest of the state of Kansas to July 1, 2046.

Abolishing the department of corrections alcohol and drug abuse treatment fund, creating the Kansas department for aging and disability services alcohol and drug abuse treatment fund and transferring the moneys and liabilities from such abolished fund to the Kansas department for aging and disability services alcohol and drug abuse treatment fund.