TOPEKA — The state is set to bolster benefits for families of workers who have been killed and for workers who have been permanently disabled, marking change for the first time in more than a decade. 

Kansas workers will see the effects of the change in little more than a month, following the passage of legislation overhauling what have been some of the lowest workers’ compensation rates in the country. 

Senate Bill 430, a bipartisan law formed after vigorous negotiations with business and labor groups, will go into effect July 1. Lawmakers sent the bill to the governor in March, and she signed it April 11. Gov. Laura Kelly held a second ceremonial signing Wednesday to reiterate the law’s importance, surrounded by lawmakers, labor groups and members of the National Guard.

Kelly estimated the last meaningful updates to workers’ comp happened 13 years ago, and it took 24 years of work before that to achieve change.

“I remind you of this so we all truly appreciate how big a deal this really is,” Kelly said. 

A family of a worker killed on the job will receive up to $500,000 in death compensation benefits, up from the previous cap of $300,000. For a worker with an injury resulting in a permanent and total disability, benefits will be capped at $400,000, up from $155,000. Compensation benefits for a temporary total disability will go from the previous cap of $130,000 to $225,000. The benefits will also undergo cost-of-living adjustments starting in 2027.

“The bill’s language is the result of countless hours of effort by representatives of injured workers, industry, and the state to craft much-needed and meaningful updates to the Kansas Workers Compensation Act,” said Anton Andersen, a defense attorney and director for the Kansas Self Insurer’s Association.

Other changes include extending workers’ compensation coverage to those in the Kansas National Guard and decreasing the Social Security retirement offset for certain disability benefits.

“This legislation is a significant step in achieving a balance between the needs of workers and the realities of the business world,” said Kansas Department of Labor Secretary Amber Shultz. “We are proud to play a part in the creation of a more fair and equitable system.”

SB 430 also allows for the settlement of workers’ compensation cases without a formal court hearing and limits use of independent medical examinations, among other provisions. 

“It has been way too long since we have revised our worker compensation laws,” Kelly said in an interview after the signing. “This was absolutely necessary. We were one of the states with the lowest workers’ compensation of any state in the country.”

As classrooms close for the summer and families and teachers reflect on the experiences and the ways that their students have grown since August, I am preparing my classroom for a new, incoming teacher.

After 11 years of service to the profession, I am stepping away from my beloved role as a public school teacher. 

In those 11 years, I’ve personally participated in and witnessed countless examples of educators and families collaborating for the success of their students. I’ve seen advocacy on behalf of greater educational equity. I’ve seen students’ lives changed through daily, incremental rhythms of continuity of care and the deliberate, skilled expertise of teaching teams focused on increasing students’ social, emotional and academic gains.  

I, too, have watched the many ways that systemic structures shortcut the potential of teachers, and as such, their students. Striving for the utmost support of our teachers is paramount for a world in which each one of our students and local communities is better empowered to thrive. 

Be leery of anything or anyone sugarcoating the privatization or commodification of education. Let’s recognize the role of Kansas public school teachers within our communities as cornerstones of our collective success. Our public school teachers are doing incredible work with what they are given. However, it is also true that teachers are systemically and rhetorically under-resourced.

The beauty of a public school is that the public, when informed by experts in the field, has the potential to be a part of exponentially powerful redesigns. We all benefit from public policy that supports public school teachers.

Kansas is at a critical juncture, one in which we are poised to blaze the trail forward. It is time we lead the way with a teacher supportive agenda. The following proposals would strengthen both educators and our state.

• Demand higher salaries for public school teachers.
• Equitably staff our public schools, including specialized support staff in the buildings.
• Finance individualized teacher professional development and continuing education with opportunities for rotating sabbaticals.
• Provide robust benefits, including paid parental leave and child care options.
• Adjust all teachers’ retirement packages to KPERS 2.
• Reduce teacher-to-student ratios.
• Create opportunities for flexible instructional hours and schedules.
• Reserve an elected position in our legislative government (specifically in education committees) and local school boards for active teachers.

In the near future, I won’t serve in the classroom daily, but I will be sending my child to a public school. I will continuously raise my voice for the teachers and for the policies that elevate teacher voices, wellbeing and expertise. When teachers succeed, their students do, too. When teachers are supported, their students are. 

May the heartland of our nation set the bar for unparalleled support of our public school teachers, our local public schools and our children. We know the way. It’s time to link arms, drown out the noise of distracting ploys from out-of-state demagogues, and remind the rest of the world just what Kansas is: a state that invests in its people.

For our people are our greatest asset, and the public school teacher teaches all. 

Whitney Morgan is the 2019 Kansas Teacher of the Year and taught ELA and ESOL at Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.

Bailey Ober, by all measures, has been a solid major league starting pitcher throughout his four-year career. Except when he’s facing the Kansas City Royals.

Ober, in a 6-1 loss, surrendered nine hits and six runs over five innings Wednesday at Target Field, the most damage he’s allowed in a start since he faced the Royals in his season debut. Ober owns a 7.71 ERA in nine career starts against his division rival.

It’s a confounding kryptonite. Ober had good command, inducing several swings and misses with his fastball and cutter. He threw a first-pitch strike to 18 of his 24 batters. He didn’t walk anyone. It was still one of his worst starts of the year.

Ober was doomed during a four-run third inning. Bobby Witt Jr. poked an opposite-field RBI single through the right side of the infield, and Salvador Perez followed with an RBI double off the left field wall when he connected with a cutter on the outside corner. Perez has reached base at least once in 43 of his last 45 games.

After a running catch from Carlos Correa in left field, Nelson Velázquez crushed a full-count cutter past the center-field fence for a two-run, two-out homer.

In the fifth inning, Perez hammered a fastball for a solo homer to center, a no-doubter that Perez appreciated for a moment in the batter’s box. Two batters later, Velázquez hit another fastball into the left field seats for the third multi-homer game of his career.

Ober, who allowed nine hits and eight runs in 1⅓ innings in Kansas City on March 31, has yielded a 19.90 ERA in his two starts against Kansas City this year and a 3.02 ERA against every other team. Six of the 10 homers he’s allowed are from Royals batters.

After Ober exited, Twins relievers Steven Okert, Diego Castillo and Cole Sands combined to pitch four scoreless innings with one hit and one walk.

BOXSCORE: Kansas City 6, Twins 1

The Twins had a 1-0 lead in the second inning against Royals righthander Seth Lugo, who owns the lowest ERA (1.72) in the majors among starting pitchers, with contributions from the bottom three hitters in their lineup. Willi Castro lined a double down the right-field line, Carlos Santana blooped a single to center and Jose Miranda hit a sacrifice fly to the left field warning track.

Lugo, who allowed six hits and three walks in six innings, staved off potential rallies with key strikeouts. After a pair of two-out singles in the first inning, Lugo struck out Ryan Jeffers in an eight-pitch at-bat. Lugo stranded two more runners by striking out Miranda in the fourth inning.

With two runners on base and one out in the fifth inning, Lugo struck out Max Kepler on a called third strike on the 12th pitch of their at-bat. Lugo, who throws eight different pitches and used each of them in that at-bat, pumped his fist when his 93-mph sinker froze Kepler.

The Twins had only one inning when they didn’t have a batter reach base, but they went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. After the first two batters reached base in the bottom of the ninth inning, Correa lined out to third base before Royals reliever Carlos Hernández retired Byron Buxton and Max Kepler with a strikeout and a flyout.