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Immigration experts criticize Kobach’s laws ———
But secretary of state says measures are successful By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
Immigration experts on Thursday criticized laws in Alabama and Arizona that were co-authored by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. But Kobach said the controversial anti-illegal immigration measures were working. “People are self-deporting,” Kobach said. “People are picking up and leaving.” But Benjamin Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Council, said the Arizona and Alabama laws were resulting in police racial profiling.
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People are selfdeporting. People are picking up and leaving.” — Secretary of State Kris Kobach Alberto Cardenas Jr., an immigration attorney from Houston, said having individual states adopt immigration laws was counterproductive to forming a rational federal law. Please see KOBACH, page 2A
Local officials likely Middle school principals reject ‘Tom Sawyer’ to lobby Legislature as single ‘core’ text for eighth-grade English for SRS funding Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” was published in 1876.
Principals rejected the “Tom Sawyer” designation, citing concerns from some students and A classic American novel parents — particularly blacks and American taught for years to junior Indians — regarding the book’s subject matter, high students in Lawrence language and themes.
By Mark Fagan
mfagan@ljworld.com
won’t become a mandatory text for eighth-graders now attending middle school. Earlier this month, principals in the Lawrence school district’s four middle schools rejected a plan that would have designated Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” as a “core” text for eighthgrade language arts, as had been proposed by middle school teachers and endorsed by the district’s curriculum specialist for language arts. While the book will re-
main available for garding the book’s use by language arts subject matter, lanteachers, it will not guage and themes. be required readThe book includes ing for all eighthreferences to slavgraders — unless ery and use of the all teachers at that “n-word,” and a SCHOOLS level opt to use it prominent villain in in their mandatory the book is “Injun English classes. Joe,” a “half-breed” AmeriPrincipals rejected the can Indian. “Tom Sawyer” designa“I don’t think any of us tion, citing concerns from are questioning the qualsome students and parents ity of ‘The Adventures of — particularly blacks and Tom Sawyer’ as a book,” American Indians — re- said Myron Melton, princi-
pal at West Middle School. “We’re just looking at it through a different lens … one looking at equity in the district. “We were getting a little bit uncomfortable as to whether this was a core book that appeals to a broad range of students across the district.” Kim Bodensteiner, the district’s chief academic officer, said that the decision came amid the district’s ongoing efforts to educate and help district personnel deal with racial issues through a program known as “Courageous Conversations.” The issue, she said: Many students of color in the disPlease see READING, page 6A
By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
It is not exactly the type of start city and county officials were hoping for when it comes to the partnership they formed with the state of Kansas to keep the Lawrence SRS office open. City and county leaders on Thursday reacted to news that Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services Secretary Robert Siedlecki Jr. didn’t request any money in his department’s upcoming budget to fund the operations of Lawrence’s SRS office. Instead, Siedlecki made comments to a legislative
“
I would love to see this resolved before two years are up.” — County Commissioner Mike Gaughan committee that indicated he was content with relying on the city and the county to provide funding for the office over the next two years. “We expected a little more effort on their part,” Mayor Please see SRS, page 2A
Panel: Suspend ex-A.G. Kline’s law license for ‘pattern of misconduct’ By John Hanna Associated Press
TOPEKA — A professional ethics panel recommended Thursday that former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline have his state law license suspended indefinitely over his conduct during criminal investigations of abortion providers, saying he was “motivated by dishonesty and selfishness.” The three-member panel
The three-member panel of the state Board for Discipline of Attorneys said Phill Kline repeatedly misled other officials or allowed subordinates to mislead others, including a Kansas City-area grand jury, to further investigations of abortion providers. of the state Board for Discipline of Attorneys said Kline repeatedly misled other officials or allowed subordinates
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to mislead others, including a Kansas City-area grand jury, to further investigations of abortion providers. The
panel also said Kline made a false statement to the office investigating the misconduct claims against him and even attempted to mislead the panel itself as it considered his case. Kline has strongly disputed the allegations against him and called the complaint politically motivated. “I upheld my duty, upheld my oath of office and the integrity of my profession,” Kline said in a state-
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ment emailed to The Associated Press. “I will continue to speak and stand for the truth and for those who cannot speak for themselves.” “My ‘mistake’ was my willingness to investigate politically powerful people and to let that investigation go where the evidence led,” he said. The panel determined some allegations in a complaint against Kline didn’t represent violations of the
state’s rules for attorneys. Those included key criticisms of Kline and his subordinates over their handling of abortion patients’ private medical records. Yet the panel concluded Kline “engaged in a pattern of misconduct” while serving as Kansas attorney general in 2003-07 and as Johnson County district attorney for two years after he lost his bid for re-election to the state ofPlease see KLINE, page 2A
COMING SATURDAY Lawrence Chamber of Commerce will recognize law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency workers.
Vol.153/No.287 40 pages
Energy smart: The Journal-World makes the most of renewable resources. www.b-e-f.org