'School choice' is culture-war focus for Kansas lawmakers

Top Republican legislators in Kansas are focusing on helping conservative parents remove their children from public schools over what’s taught about gender and sexuality rather than pursuing a version of what critics call Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.

A proposal to allow parents to use state tax dollars to pay for private or home schooling was to be available online Tuesday, a day after a committee on K-12 spending introduced the measure in the House.

The introduction comes as funding and lesson plans for public schools have become hot button issues for conservative politicians nationwide. Lawmakers in Iowa approved a similar law last week and at least a dozen states are considering similar legislation.