Kansas Eases Rules for Adults to Get Technical Training

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed a new law intended to ease the path for adults to pursue continuing education opportunities. Called “AO-K to Work,” the law establishes a system in which adults over the age of 21 can get “career pathway” technical training more quickly. Previously, adults who wanted to earn technical certificates in healthcare, manufacturing, welding, and aerostructures would first have to get their GED. Under the new system, adults who pass a qualifying exam can enroll directly in technical college classes without first having to go through GED classes, shaving a year off the education process. “This new bill will help our state grow and thrive and make our communities a better place. This is an ideal opportunity to offer educational advancement and help people in the program transition quickly and smoothly into our workforce,” Kelly said. There are about 173,000 adults in Kansas who lack a GED or high school diploma, and over 700,000 adults who have no credentials past high school. Because of this, Kansas has struggled in recent years to adequately staff high-skilled jobs in the state. In particular, the state has seen a greater demand for those with aircraft maintenance and repair skills; a 2018 report by the Aeronautical Repair Station Association found that within a few years, the state would see a serious shortage of aerospace workers. “We can now point to 2022 as the year of reckoning. Seeing clear analysis showing that a shortfall of aviation maintenance talent in the very near future needs to move us to action now,” said Brett Levanto of ARSA. Many other midwestern states have also dealt with high-skilled labor shortages in recent years, with some pursuing initiatives like Kansas’ to make education more accessible, while others, like Iowa, have gone on campaigns to “rebrand” their states with the hope of attracting new labor for tech, manufacturing, and health care markets. [Wichita Eagle; Lawrence Journal-World]

TRAVEL TO IOWA | California’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, announced a ban on taxpayer-funded travel to Iowa over the state’s passage of a law that removes gender protections for Medicaid users. Iowa’s state Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that gender transition surgeries could be covered under Medicaid. However, this month, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill banning Medicaid from covering the surgeries. Becerra said that lawmakers should have followed a state law passed 12 years ago, which includes gender identity in its list of protected characteristics under its Civil Rights Act. “The Iowa Legislature has reversed course on what was settled law under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, repealing protections for those seeking gender-affirming healthcare. California has taken an unambiguous stand against discrimination and government actions that would enable it,” he said. Becerra is able to issue the ban under a 2016 California law that prohibits state-funded travel for public officials to places that repeal protections against discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. “California must take action to avoid supporting or financing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people,” the law reads. So far, 11 states are on California’s list of banned travel destinations. Six states have passed similar bills to California’s, while other states have resolutions condemning the practice, including Tennessee, which passed a resolution in 2017 urging other states to “refrain from imposing moral judgment…in order to prevent escalating foolishness.”  Tennessee state Sen. Mike Bell, a Republican who wrote the measure, said that “California has potentially opened what could become an economic civil war between the states.” [Sacramento Bee; Stateline]

MUSLIM MAYOR | The mayor of Prospect Park, New Jersey, was detained for several hours at JFK airport in New York by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. Mohamed Khairullah said that he was racially profiled by the agents, who also kept his phone for two weeks after he was searched. After his flight back to the United States from Turkey,  Khairullah, who is Muslim, said he was asked if he had met any terrorists in the country. “As a person who travels a lot, I know that is not a normal procedure. I believe that my constitutional rights were violated. Even with U.S. citizenship, even with the 13-plus years as mayor, being a volunteer firefighter three years after I came to the U.S. ... all these hours of community service obviously doesn’t matter when my name is Mohamed Khairullah,” he said. U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, who represents Khairullah's district, said federal authorities should explain their actions. "If he was targeted by authorities as a criminal or even a national security threat for no reason, the Mayor deserves answers on his detention ….  We have heard too many reports of Americans being harassed for their names, their skin colors, and their national ancestries. Americans must stand up against this devolution as one community, one people, one nation," Pascrell said. A CBP spokesperson said that they could not discuss the individual case, but said that the agency "treats all international travelers with integrity, respect and professionalism while keeping the highest standards of security." [North Jersey.com; CBS News; Washington Post]

EMS VEHICLES | Emergency response vehicles in Prince George County, Virginia, were rendered unusable last week due to a fuel mix-up, prompting the county to declare a state of emergency. Several fire engines, ladder trucks, and medical vehicles were fueled with regular gasoline instead of diesel fuel, causing malfunctions. The county director of emergency services, Brad Owens, said that they immediately declared a local emergency. “We immediately took action and shut all fire and EMS units down. We did not know how many units might have been affected, and we didn’t want to be in a life or death situation and have one of our units fail or cause an explosion that would cause any type of injuries,” he said. It isn’t known how much the repairs will cost or how regular fuel was marked as diesel at the county’s fire stations. County Administrator Percy Aschraft said that “we will do what we can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” [NBC 12; Journal of Emergency Medical Services] 

LETHAL INJECTIONS | A federal judge in Ohio ruled that the state can destroy the state’s remaining supply of lethal injection drugs, all of which are expired. The state had requested that the prison pharmacist be allowed to destroy the drugs so that they wouldn’t be used in any upcoming executions. Executions have been put on hold in Ohio following a request made by Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, to reform the lethal injection protocol. Many states have struggled to come up with protocols that are legal and sustainable, given that many pharmacies will no longer sell the necessary drugs for executions. The U.S. Department of Justice has considered using seized fentanyl for executions, but it remains untested in an execution settings. [Associated Press; Reuters]