Kansas
Kansas school board rejects textbooks because they’re too anti-Trump
A Kansas school board reportedly rejected textbooks because they believed that the teaching materials were too “biased” against Donald Trump.
A proposed contract with a Boston-based education company was also voted down by the newly elected conservative majority on the Derby Board of Education over their public statements on diversity, equity, and inclusion, KCUR-FM reported.
The $400,000 contract with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was rejected even though it was recommended by Derby High School teachers, who requested a new school curriculum after being left without social studies textbooks for several years.
But board members reportedly said that parts of textbooks and other learning materials offered by the company did not reflect fairly on Trump’s first presidency.
“My biggest concern … involved what I would define as bias of omission,” board member Cathy Boote said, according to the outlet.
Boote then shared examples of the material she deemed did not accurately reflect the president-elect’s time in office, including the controversial “Muslim travel ban.”

“Then there was the ‘Muslim ban,’” Boote said and made air quotes as she spoke.
“With no mention of the fact it wasn’t aimed at all Muslim countries, just those that have no ability to vet. Safety was the top priority, but they leave it sit there, with no explanation, to make you think he was xenophobic.”
Trump’s travel ban, issued in January 2017, restricted entry into the US for certain people from foreign nations. It was nicknamed the “Muslim ban” by Trump as well as his aides and critics because a majority of those affected by the executive actions came from predominantly Muslim countries.
President Joe Biden issued a proclamation revoking the travel ban when he entered office, but in May this year Trump said he would reinstate the ban.
“We will bring back the travel ban — you remember the famous travel ban,” he said.
Boote said that she was also concerned about the way Trump was portrayed in the text books when it came to trade deals with China, the January 6 Capitol riot and his position on Cuba.
Another board member, Michael Blankenship, reportedly agreed with the concerns raised by Boote, but also rejected the proposal to work with the company because of a pro-Black Lives Matter statement they made in 2020.
“We believe Black Lives Matter [and] we believe in social justice,” the company said.
“That’s a pretty bold statement,” Blankenship reportedly said. “Wouldn’t anybody want to know, ‘What do you mean?’ I still don’t have that answer.”
The Independent has contacted Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for comment.
Kansas
RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Tuesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.
Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.
WIBW Scoreboard
BOYS
5A East Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- KC Washington 68, Highland Park 38
- Shawnee Heights 49, De Soto 37 (will play Leavenworth Friday)
5A West Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Topeka West 55, Hutchinson 32 (will play Bishop Carroll Friday)
- Emporia 61, Great Bend 41 (will play Maize South Friday)
- Seaman 73, Valley Center 51 (will play Hays Friday)
3A West Franklin Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Burlington 60, Osage City 35 (will play Baxter Springs Friday)
3A Sabetha Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Hiawatha 73, Oskaloosa 48 (will play Heritage Christian Friday)
- Silver Lake 58, Sabetha 39 (will play Perry-Lecompton Friday 7:30 p.m.)
GIRLS
6A West Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Washburn Rural 60, Wichita South 32 (will play Derby)
- Topeka High 69, Maize 45 (will play Liberal)
- Manhattan 67, Free State 21 (will play Wichita East)
4A East Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Rock Creek 71, Parsons 23 (will play Tonganoxie)
- Wamego 54, Labette County 33 (will play Bishop Miege)
- Hayden 2, Athison 0 (will play Baldwin)
2A Eskridge/Mission Valley Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Rossville 71, KC Christian 49 (will play Maur Hill-Mount Academy)
- Lyndon 61, Jeff. Co. North 31 (will play Valley Heights)
- Valley Heights 65, Doniphan West 41 (will play Lyndon)
Copyright 2026 WIBW. All rights reserved.
Kansas
Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union
In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law which prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000.
The law also invalidates state-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In February 2026, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. SB 244 also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas – from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future.
The same day SB 244 went into effect, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit challenging SB 244 in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of two transgender men who had their driver’s licenses invalidated under the law. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.
“The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”
Kansas
Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and possession of an illegal firearm.
According to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 22-year-old Antoine R. Gillum was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
His sentencing stems from a June 2024 incident in a metro gas station. KCPD investigators contacted Gillum inside and found that he had discarded a 9 mm pistol in an aisle between the merchandise. He also discarded a pill bottle containing multiple illegal substances: cocaine base, oxycodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone.
Officers searched the vehicle Gillum had arrived in and found approximately 32 grams of cocaine base.
On May 6, 2025, Gillum pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Jennings. It’s a part of ‘Operation Take Back America,’ a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
No further information has been released.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
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