Kansas legislation · 2025-2026 Regular Session
Kansas SB102: Clarifying the identifying information in mandatory reports of abuse or neglect of children and increasing the penalty for failing to report such abuse or neglect
Status: In committee, April 10, 2026
What the bill says
An act concerning children and minors; relating to the secretary for children and families; requiring coroners to report certain information to the secretary; clarifying the identifying information in mandatory reports of abuse or neglect of children to the secretary; increasing the penalty for failing to report such abuse or neglect from a misdemeanor to a felony; amending K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 22a-242 and 38-2223 and repealing the existing sections.
From the introduced text, January 29, 2025:
AN ACT concerning children and minors; relating to the secretary for children and families; requiring coroners to report certain information to the secretary; clarifying the identifying information in mandatory reports of abuse or neglect of children to the secretary; increasing the penalty for failing to report such abuse or neglect from a misdemeanor to a felony; amending K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 22a-242 and 38-2223 and repealing the existing sections. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas: Section 1. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 22a-242 is hereby amended to read as follows: 22a-242. (a) When a child dies, any law enforcement officer, health care provider or other person having knowledge of the death shall immediately notify the coroner of the known facts concerning the time, place, manner and circumstances of the death. If the notice to the coroner identifies any suspicious circumstances or unknown cause, as described in the protocol developed by the state review board under K.S.A. 22a-243, and amendments thereto, the coroner shall immediately: (1) Investigate the death to determine whether the child's death included any such suspicious circumstance or unknown cause; and (2) direct a pathologist to perform an autopsy. (b) If, after investigation and an autopsy, the coroner determines that the death of a child does not include any suspicious circumstances or unknown cause, as described …