(Jan. 15, 2026) – Today, the Senate Education Committee, chaired by Senator Renee Erickson (R-Wichita), held a hearing on Senate Bill 302, requiring school districts to prohibit the use of personal electronic communication devices during instructional time and prohibiting any employee of a school district from using social media to directly communicate with any student for the official school purposes.

Conferees appearing before the committee included:

Proponents:

• Emily Brownlee, Educator
• Michael Chartier, ExcellinEd in Action
• Kevin Cronister, Law Enforcement Officer
• Anthony Dummermth, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
• April Holman, Alliance for a Healthy Kansas
• Katie Lounghauser, Kids Digital Health Hub and Screen Guardians
• Adrienne Olejnik, Kansas Action for Children
• Gretchin Shanahan, Parent
• Ngoc Vuoung, Wichita School Board
• Amy Warren, Kansas Coalition for Distraction Free Schools
• Kim Whitman, Distraction-Free Schools Policy Project

Opponents:

• Leah Fliter, Kansas Association of School Boards
• Ann Mah, Retiree
• Kailey Howell, Spring Hill High School Student
• Mary Sinclair, Kansas PTA

Neutral:

• Cathy Hopkins, Kansas State Board of Education
• Frank Harwood, Kansas State Board of Education
• Timothy Graham, Kansas National Education Association
• Jim Karlesking, United School Administrators

The committee will meet again next week.