Enacting the Haylee Weissenbach protecting students act to establish the office of education inspector general, authorize the education inspector general to conduct audits, investigations and reviews of educational institutions, require reporting of suspected professional and criminal misconduct by school employees and agents, require certain individuals to register on an educator misconduct registry, require criminal history record checks of school employees and agents and provide for civil penalties for violations of this act.

SB 491, the Haylee Weissenbach Protecting Students Act, creates an independent Office of Education Inspector General in Kansas to oversee K-12 schools (including public, charter, and nonpublic institutions). It requires schools to report suspected professional or criminal misconduct by employees or agents (like volunteers or contractors), mandates criminal background checks for all school staff, and establishes an educator misconduct registry for individuals posing risks to students. The bill also requires schools to conduct audits and investigations into misconduct, prohibits retaliation against those reporting issues, and imposes civil penalties for noncompliance. These provisions directly affect all Kansas school districts, nonpublic schools, and their employees or contracted service providers.