# Kansas SB 78: Requiring postsecondary educational institutions to regularly review and update accreditation policies, prohibiting accrediting agencies from compelling such institutions to violate state law and providing a cause of action for violations thereof. Kansas SB 78, Requiring postsecondary educational institutions to regularly review and update accreditation policies, prohibiting accrediting agencies from compelling such institutions to violate state law and providing a cause of action for violations thereof., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Committee on Education; status signed, last action 2025-03-26 (Approved by Governor on Wednesday, March 26, 2025); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-SB78-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Kansas SB 78 - State: Kansas - Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session - Title: Requiring postsecondary educational institutions to regularly review and update accreditation policies, prohibiting accrediting agencies from compelling such institutions to violate state law and providing a cause of action for violations thereof. - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-01-27 - Last action: 2025-03-26, Approved by Governor on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 - Sponsor: Committee on Education - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: house committee on education, senate committee on education - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 6 (324 yes, 80 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 13 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - More colleges qualify for student grants: benefit, medium. Kansas comprehensive grants accept more accreditors for qualifying nonprofit independent colleges, replacing the named North Central accreditation standards. Accreditors must be listed in the U.S. Department of Education's database. Colleges must operate independently of state and local government,… - More schools can offer real estate courses: benefit, low. More accredited schools can provide qualifying education for Kansas real estate salesperson and broker licenses. Schools can use an accreditor listed by the U.S. Department of Education instead of the named North Central accreditor. Courses still need Kansas Real Estate Commission approval and must… - More colleges qualify for specialty plates: benefit, low. Qualifying nonprofit independent Kansas colleges can use more recognized accreditors to qualify for educational institution license plates. An accreditor listed by the U.S. Department of Education replaces the named North Central accreditation standard. Colleges must operate independently of state… - Colleges gain protection from accreditor demands: benefit, low. Accreditors cannot force covered Kansas colleges to violate state law. Adverse action based partly or fully on a college's compliance with Kansas law violates this protection. A harmed college can sue the accreditor in a Kansas court with authority to hear the case. Federal law limits enforcement w… - University gains broader state grant eligibility: benefit, low. The university governed by K.S.A. 13-13a46 has a broader accreditation path to state general fund grant payments. It must be a current member in good standing with an accreditor listed by the U.S. Department of Education. This replaces the requirement for membership in the North Central Association… - Colleges must review their accreditation options: mixed, low. Covered Kansas colleges must regularly review and update their accreditation policies and practices. The law sets December 31, 2025, as the deadline to identify eligible accreditors listed by the U.S. Department of Education. Colleges must update their policies to freely pursue any identified accre… - Beer sales get updated tax definition: mixed, low. Kansas retailers' sales tax law includes beer with up to 6% alcohol by volume as a cereal malt beverage. The beer must be sold by a retailer licensed under the Kansas cereal malt beverage act. This definition applies only to retailers' sales tax, not other legal purposes. It does not state a tax ra… - Direct mail gets clearer tax definitions: mixed, low. Kansas sales tax law includes purchaser-supplied items placed with printed material in its direct mail definition. Printed material must reach a mass audience or a mailing list supplied or directed by the purchaser. Recipients cannot be billed directly for the items. Multiple printed items delivere… - Farm feed gets updated tax classification: mixed, low. Kansas sales tax law includes qualifying feed as an ingredient or component part in production. The feed's main purpose must be agricultural or aquaculture production covered by K.S.A. 47-1901, including fur production. The supplied provision does not state a tax rate or establish savings for a par… - Occasional sale rules include taxable services: mixed, low. Kansas sales tax law defines an isolated or occasional sale to include property and taxable services. The sale must be nonrecurring. The seller must not be in the business of selling that property or those services at the time. This definition alone does not establish whether a particular sale is t… - Phone service tax definitions get updates: mixed, low. Kansas sales tax law includes later federally designated toll-free numbers in its definition of 800 service. This extends beyond the listed 800, 855, 866, 877, and 888 numbers. The 900 service definition excludes a telecom seller's collection-service charges to subscribers and products or services… - Resold custom software gets tax reclassification: mixed, low. Kansas sales tax law treats custom software as prewritten software when sold to someone other than its original purchaser. Purchaser-specific changes are excluded from that definition when their charges are reasonable and separately listed on an invoice or price statement. This changes software cla… - Sales tax updates nonprofit college definitions: mixed, low. Kansas sales tax law includes qualifying nonprofit schools, colleges, and universities offering education above 12th grade as educational institutions. They must meet the listed accreditation, state-board, or K.S.A. 74-50,103 criteria. The definition also retains specified affiliated entities. Thes… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Committee on Education ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-04-23 | Senate | Yea: 38 Nay: 2 | pass | 38 | 2 | | | 2026-04-23 | Senate | Yea: 86 Nay: 36 | pass | 86 | 36 | | | 2026-04-23 | Senate | Yea: 38 Nay: 2 | pass | 38 | 2 | | | 2025-03-19 | Senate | Concurred with amendments | pass | 38 | 2 | | | 2025-03-18 | House | Final Action - Passed as amended | pass | 86 | 36 | | | 2025-02-19 | Senate | Final Action - Passed as amended | pass | 38 | 2 | | ## Actions (17) - 2025-03-26: Approved by Governor on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 (Senate) - 2025-03-21: Enrolled and presented to Governor on Friday, March 21, 2025 (Senate) - 2025-03-19: Concurred with amendments; Yea 38, Nay 2 (Senate) - 2025-03-17: Committee of the Whole - Committee Report be adopted (House) - 2025-03-17: Committee of the Whole - Be passed as amended (House) - 2025-03-17: Final Action - Passed as amended; Yea 86, Nay 36, Absent 3 (House) - 2025-03-13: Committee Report recommending bill be passed as amended by House Committee on Education (House) - 2025-03-06: Hearing: Thursday, March 6, 2025, 1:30 PM — Room 218-N (House) - 2025-02-25: Received and Introduced (House) - 2025-02-25: Referred to House Committee on Education (House) - 2025-02-19: Final Action - Passed as amended; Yea 38, Nay 2 (Senate) - 2025-02-18: Committee of the Whole - Committee Report be adopted (Senate) - 2025-02-18: Committee of the Whole - Be passed as amended (Senate) - 2025-02-17: Committee Report recommending bill be passed as amended by Senate Committee on Education (Senate) - 2025-02-07: Hearing: Friday, February 7, 2025, 1:30 PM — Room 144-S (Senate) - 2025-01-28: Referred to Senate Committee on Education (Senate) - 2025-01-27: Introduced (Senate) ## Bill text - As Amended by House Committee on Education: [PDF](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_78/sb78_02_0000.pdf) - As Amended by Senate Committee on Education: [PDF](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_78/sb78_01_0000.pdf) - As Introduced: [PDF](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_78/sb78_00_0000.pdf) - Enrolled: [PDF](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_78/sb78_enrolled.pdf) ## Related bills - SB 430: Adding mitragynine to schedule I of the uniform controlled substances act and reconciling multiple amendments to certain statutes in the Kansas criminal code. (signed) - SB 82: Providing tax credits for expenditures for lockable gun and ammunition storage and the retail sale of higher ethanol blends of fuel, discontinuing the tax cred… (signed) - SB 300: Providing for the apportionment of business income by manufacturers of alcoholic liquor depending on whether the taxpayer is a qualifying Kansas investor or a… (signed) - HB 2029: Reconciling multiple amendments to certain statutes. (signed) - HB 2018: Senate Substitute for HB 2018 by Committee on Federal and State Affairs - Creating the crime of interference with the conduct of a religious assembly, providin… (became law) - HB 2036: Providing a Kansas income tax subtraction modification for certain amounts received as compensation for members of the armed forces. (failed) ## Sources - [As Amended by House Committee on Education (PDF)](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_78/sb78_02_0000.pdf) - [As Amended by Senate Committee on Education (PDF)](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_78/sb78_01_0000.pdf) - [As Introduced (PDF)](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_78/sb78_00_0000.pdf) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_78/sb78_enrolled.pdf) ## Related - [SB 430: Adding mitragynine to schedule I of the uniform controlled substances act and r…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-SB430-2025-2026) - [SB 82: Providing tax credits for expenditures for lockable gun and ammunition storage…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-SB82-2025-2026) - [SB 300: Providing for the apportionment of business income by manufacturers of alcoholi…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-SB300-2025-2026) - [HB 2029: Reconciling multiple amendments to certain statutes.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-HB2029-2025-2026) - [HB 2018: Senate Substitute for HB 2018 by Committee on Federal and State Affairs - Creat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-HB2018-2025-2026) - [HB 2036: Providing a Kansas income tax subtraction modification for certain amounts rece…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-HB2036-2025-2026) - [Kansas bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/kansas/bills) - [Kansas state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/kansas) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KS-SB78-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-17).