Kansas Gay Rights Group Opposes Tenure Proposal

TOPEKA - The leading gay rights group in Kansas also is lobbying against a proposal in a school funding bill to end tenure for teachers.

Equality Kansas Executive Director Tom Witt said Sunday the group opposes the proposal because it would allow administrators to fire teachers because they are gay or lesbian.

State law says that after three years on the job, a teacher who's facing dismissal must be told why in writing and has the right to challenge the decision and have a hearing officer review the case.

The school funding bill strips teachers of those rights.

Witt said those protections have kept gay and lesbian teachers from losing their jobs.

He said if the state takes away those protections, "It's not like people can go back in the closet."