Kansas House passes childcare licensing, training requirement bill
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas House of Representatives passed house bill 2294 on Thursday, with an overwhelming vote of 103-15.
The bill addresses childcare licensing and training requirements, and for the most part, is highly agreed upon.
'There are lot of good things in this bill,' said Dr. Brandan Kennedy, a certified pediatrician and board chair of the Immunize Kansas Coalition.
'There are some things that will streamline childcare in the state of Kansas. And so, I think that there's things that are favorable that everybody agrees on.'
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Dr. Kennedy says that there is a part of the bill that 'the majority of the medical community is really concerned' about.
The immunization requirements listed in the bill include an exemption for 'religious beliefs' of the parent or guardian. The authors of the bill use the definition of 'religious beliefs' found in a 2021 statute regarding employer COVID-19 vaccine requirements.
According to K.S.A. 44-663, ''religious beliefs' includes, but is not limited to, theistic and non-theistic moral and ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong that are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.'
Dr. Kennedy thinks that the definition 'widens the gap for what people can say in order to try to sidestep any vaccine requirements.'
Kennedy used recent measles cases in Kansas as an example.
'We're already in an uphill battle in Kansas because we don't have sufficient vaccination rates against measles in order to maintain herd immunity,' he said.
'It put us at a risk for an outbreak and we're seeing the consequences of that. Anything, I think, that weakens requirements and potentially lowered those rates only increases our risks.'
Kennedy and the coalition are asking that lawmakers give experts a chance to review the impact of that definition.
'All we're asking is that those amendments are removed and that they're vetted appropriately through the appropriate committees so that there are opportunities to discuss the potential implications on the health of all Kansans.'
As a pediatrician for nearly 30 years, Kennedy says he's seeing sick children.
'We've already seen consequences in doing what I do. I've had to take already take care of some children with vaccine-preventable diseases who are seriously and critically ill.'
Kennedy also said that he understands the situation that parents have been put in regarding vaccine choice.
'I am never going to tell you that a vaccine has a 0% risk. There's not a 0% risk with anything. And in medicine, we always have to weigh risk versus benefit. I totally validate people's fear and anxiety are around the entire situation. They hear a lot of things, and they see a lot of things. And unfortunately, there's a lot of misinformation.'
By and large, the coalition says the bill is a positive for Kansans, and that reviewing the definition of 'religious beliefs' would keep the vast majority of the legislation surrounding other topics.
'This would not change the effectiveness of the bill,' Kennedy said.
'The remaining part of the bill? I think everybody is in favor of.'
Kennedy says the only job he has is to protect children.
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'We're just trying to do our best and to be the most effective at protecting children against these illnesses,' he said.
'And all you'd have to do is be in my shoes and see one or two of these kids and how sick they are to understand. Many of those kids don't have a voice. And we as pediatricians, we, many times have to be their voice. And like I said, you know what we want to try to do is what's best for them and lowers their risk for health problems and harm.'
The bill heads to the Kansas Senate for discussion. Fox4 reached out to several local lawmakers who voted to approve HB2294, none of them returned our requests in time for this story.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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