‘I’m going to defund this board’: Kansas lawmakers are unsatisfied with Board of Nursing

TOPEKA (KSNT) — As Kansas continues to deal with a nursing shortage, health professionals are placing some of the blame on the state.

The Kansas Nursing Board manages nursing licenses in the Sunflower State. They also discipline nurses who they believe are practicing without a license.

However, some health professionals believe they’re being wrongfully accused.

During Tuesdays Government Oversight Committee, lawmakers spent the afternoon discussing the Board of Nursing. There, several nurses testified that the board had given them an “Unprofessional Conduct” demerit.

This label stays on their record, and several nurses testified that it is preventing them from getting jobs in the nursing industry, despite Kansas dealing with a growing shortage of health professionals.

While the “Unprofessional Conduct” demerit can be given to nurses who are accused of things such as physical or sexual abuse, many nurses who testified were given this demerit for less serious infractions.

We spoke with a former nurse, and Kansas State Representative Sandy Pickert. She was at the Tuesday meeting and also testified against the Nursing Board.

“One person was late in filing her relicensure paperwork because her husband had cancer,” Pickert said. “One nurse did her relicensure online in a timely manner, but a simply miss clicked on her computer. She has been through the ringer. It’s cost her thousands of dollars, and her patients suffered tremendously.”

Three representatives from the Kansas Nursing Board were present during Monday’s meeting. After hearing the testimonies from Kansas nurses, the Government Oversight Committee questioned the nursing board and grew frustrated with their lack of ability to explain these cases.

Carol Moreland, the Executive Administrator for the Kansas Board of Nursing, acknowledged the complaints made against the board and explained that it was never the board’s intention to cause any harm.

Additionally, another Nursing Board representative claimed that a lack of staffing makes it difficult to notify nurses when their licenses are about to expire.

However, lawmakers were still left frustrated, with one going as far as to say, “I’m going to defund this board.”

The Kansas State Nursing Board is asking for more than $4 million from the state in 2026. The agency also receives revenue from licensing fees.

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