# Kansas

The Kansas Secretary of Corrections certifies state corrections officers and parole officers after a basic course of at least 200 hours, and corrections officers must receive 40 hours of in-service training a year. Sworn jail deputies are certified by the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training (KSCPOST), and no state agency sets or inspects county jail standards. Since 2023 the State has rewritten the county jail statutes, required police to report searches of parolees to the parole officer, required jails to hold people convicted of serious felonies without bond until sentencing, authorized sheriffs to hold people on ICE detainers, and made the Prisoner Review Board independent of the Department of Corrections. Many Kansas acts take effect on publication in the statute book, usually July 1; entries are dated by effective date.

Source: https://uscli.org/corrections-tracker/kansas

## At a glance

- **Certifying body:** Split system. The Secretary of Corrections (Kansas Department of Corrections, KDOC) certifies state corrections officers and parole officers; no one may receive a permanent appointment as either without the Secretary’s certificate for an approved basic course of at least 200 hours ([K.S.A. 75-5212](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/laws/075_000_0000_chapter/075_052_0000_article/075_052_0012_section/075_052_0012_k/)). KSCPOST certifies law enforcement officers, which by statute include the sheriff, undersheriff, and salaried deputies, and expressly excludes “any employee of the secretary of corrections other than a special agent” (K.S.A. 74-5602(g)). Jail staff fall under KSCPOST only if they are sworn deputies. KSCPOST is covered on the [Kansas Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/kansas).
- **Statute:** K.S.A. 75-5212 (training and certification of corrections and parole officers), 75-5247a (corrections officers’ law enforcement powers), and 75-5216 (parole officer duties). Kansas Law Enforcement Training Act, K.S.A. 74-5601 and following (KSCPOST). County jails: K.S.A. 19-1901 to 19-1936.
- **Minimum standards:** The Secretary sets training and certification standards by rule. A permanent appointment requires the Secretary’s certificate for a basic course of at least 200 hours. The certificate lasts for the term of employment but must be re-earned after more than one year away from KDOC. The Secretary may certify officers certified in another state with equal or higher requirements, and may waive hours for prior training (75-5212(a) to (c)). Corrections officers “while acting within the scope of their duties” have the law enforcement powers needed for those duties anywhere in Kansas ([75-5247a](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/laws/075_000_0000_chapter/075_052_0000_article/075_052_0047a_section/075_052_0047a_k/)). Sworn jail deputies must hold a KSCPOST certificate (74-5616(a)).
- **Basic training:** KDOC corrections officers and parole officers: a Secretary-approved basic course of “not less than 200 hours of instruction” (75-5212(b)). No statutory basic training standard for non-deputy county jailers was found. Sworn deputies complete KSCPOST basic law enforcement training.
- **In-service training:** “Every corrections officer shall receive not less than 40 hours of in-service training annually” (75-5212(d)). KSCPOST-certified deputies must complete the annual continuing education required by K.S.A. 74-5607a; failing to do so is a ground for discipline (74-5616(b)(4)).
- **Decertification:** KSCPOST may suspend, condition, or revoke the certificate of a law enforcement officer, including a sworn jail deputy, under the Kansas Administrative Procedure Act ([K.S.A. 74-5616](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/laws/074_000_0000_chapter/074_056_0000_article/074_056_0016_section/074_056_0016_k/)); grounds and KSCPOST’s published list of certification actions are on the [Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/kansas). For KDOC officers, the statute sets no revocation procedure for the Secretary’s certificate; it lapses after more than a year away from KDOC (75-5212(b)).
- **Jail standards:** No state agency that sets or inspects county jail standards was found in K.S.A. chapter 19, article 19, based on the section titles. Every county must provide jail services at county expense (19-1901, as amended in 2023). The sheriff keeps the jail and is “responsible for the manner in which the jail is kept,” must keep separate rooms for each sex (since 2023, biological sex at birth), and must supply food, drink, and medical care ([19-1903](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/laws/019_000_0000_chapter/019_019_0000_article/019_019_0003_section/019_019_0003_k/)). Deaths in city or county custody are investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (19-1935).
- **Probation and parole officers:** Parole officers are KDOC employees certified under the same 200-hour basic-course requirement as corrections officers (75-5212). They supervise parolees and people on postrelease supervision, give written conditions, keep records, and must use KDOC guidance on graduated interventions and incentives ([75-5216](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/laws/075_000_0000_chapter/075_052_0000_article/075_052_0016_section/075_052_0016_k/)). Parolees agree in writing to searches by a parole officer or KDOC enforcement, apprehension, and investigation officer at any time, with or without a warrant or cause, but not “arbitrary or capricious searches or searches for the sole purpose of harassment” (22-3717). Probation is supervised by court services officers (judicial branch) and community corrections officers; their training standards were not verified.
- **Restrictive housing:** No statute limiting solitary confinement or restrictive housing was found in K.S.A. 75-52 (KDOC) or 19-19 (jails), based on the section titles. None of the corrections bills in the 2023 to 2026 KLRD Summaries of Legislation addressed it.
- **Corrections use of force:** No corrections-specific use-of-force or pregnant-restraint statute was found. Corrections officers have law enforcement powers “as are necessary for the performance of such duties” (75-5247a). The general justification statutes are K.S.A. 21-5221 to 21-5231.

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- Jul 1, 2026 — **Sheriffs and jail keepers may hold people on ICE detainers; civil immunity for good-faith 287(g) work** — Senate Substitute for HB 2372 (2026), new sections and amendments to K.S.A. 8-1404, 8-2010, 12-2904, 21-5904, 21-5922, 8-1102, and 75-6104 · Passed over the Governor’s veto April 9, 2026 (House 85-38, Senate 31-9); effective on publication in the statute book, July 1, 2026 (computed) — “Any sheriff or keeper of the jail operating a jail pursuant to K.S.A. 19-1901” may detain a person on a facially sufficient ICE detainer request (form I-247A) and hold the person without criminal charges to transfer custody to ICE, or on a DHS form I-200 or ICE form I-205 warrant. The form is facially sufficient if it identifies the person, has box 1 (probable cause) or box 2 (transfer of custody) completed, and is signed by an ICE official, or if it is identified and signed and is supported by a warrant or other documentation of probable cause. The jail must tell the person why they are held, give them a copy of the form as soon as practicable, tell ICE the person is in custody, and complete and return the agency section of the form. The jail must release the person on a cancellation form, on a finding that the detainer is not facially sufficient, or on proof of U.S. citizenship or ICE confirmation of lawful presence. The act gives officers and agencies civil immunity in state actions for good-faith custody under a 287(g) agreement or detainer, requires the Attorney General to represent them in related federal suits and habeas hearings, and lets a sheriff sign a 287(g) agreement without county commission approval. It also creates the misdemeanor of unlawful approach of a first responder. — **For corrections staff:** Jail staff holding someone on an I-247A must give the person a copy, notify ICE, and release the person on cancellation, insufficiency, or proof of citizenship. — [Senate Sub. for HB 2372, enrolled](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/hb_2372/hb2372_enrolled.pdf)[KLRD 2026 Summary of Legislation](https://klrd.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/bill_summary_2026-z.pdf)[Actions report](https://kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/recent_docs/actions_and_subject_index_report.pdf)
- Jul 1, 2026 — **People convicted of serious felonies are held in county jail without bond until sentencing** — SB 358 (2026), amending K.S.A. 22-2804 · Approved March 27, 2026; effective on publication in the statute book, July 1, 2026 (computed) — A person convicted of an off-grid felony, a severity level 1 to 4 nondrug felony, or a severity level 1 or 2 drug felony who was released on bond before trial must have the bond “revoked immediately” and be “remanded and held without bond in the county jail until sentencing.” A person already in custody has bond modified so they stay held without bond. — **For corrections staff:** Jails will hold more people convicted of serious felonies between verdict and sentencing, with no bond release. — [SB 358 enrolled](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_358/sb358_enrolled.pdf)[KLRD 2026 Summary of Legislation](https://klrd.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/bill_summary_2026-z.pdf)
- Jul 1, 2026 — **Prisoner Review Board made independent of KDOC** — SB 459 (2026), amending K.S.A. 22-3709 and related sections · Act effective on Kansas Register publication; membership sections operative on and after July 1, 2026 — KLRD reports that the Prisoner Review Board, previously within KDOC with three members appointed by the Secretary of Corrections, becomes an independent five-member board subject to Senate confirmation. The Governor appoints three members (one with five years of law enforcement experience and one with victim-services experience) and the Attorney General two (one a prosecutor with at least five years’ experience), for four-year terms. Sitting members’ terms expired July 1, 2026, and interim members serve from that date. Parole hearings must be postponed if the victim was not properly notified of the public comment session. — **For corrections staff:** Parole officers present release and violation matters to a board that no longer reports to the Secretary of Corrections. — [SB 459 enrolled](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_459/sb459_enrolled.pdf)[KLRD 2026 Summary of Legislation](https://klrd.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/bill_summary_2026-z.pdf)
- Jul 1, 2024 — **Police searches of parolees must be reported to the parole officer** — SB 414 (2024), L. 2024, ch. 96, sec. 10, amending K.S.A. 22-3717 (also amending 21-6607) · Act effective on Kansas Register publication; sec. 10 operative on and after July 1, 2024 (statute history: July 1) — Parolees and people on postrelease supervision remain subject to searches by a parole officer or KDOC enforcement, apprehension, and investigation officer at any time, but not arbitrary or capricious searches or searches only to harass, and to searches by any law enforcement officer on reasonable suspicion. KLRD describes as new the rule that “Any law enforcement officer who conducts such a search shall submit a written report to the appropriate parole officer no later than the close of the next business day after such search,” giving the facts, scope, and findings. Similar reporting already applied to probation and community corrections searches. — **For corrections staff:** Parole officers receive a written report of any police search of their supervisees by the next business day. — [SB 414 enrolled](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2023_24/bills/download/?apn=b2023_24/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_414/sb414_enrolled.pdf)[K.S.A. 22-3717](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/laws/022_000_0000_chapter/022_037_0000_article/022_037_0017_section/022_037_0017_k/)
- Jul 1, 2023 — **County jail statutes rewritten: jail services, separation by biological sex, competency-wait reimbursement** — SB 228 (2023), L. 2023, ch. 83, amending K.S.A. 19-1901 and following and creating a County Competency Expense Fund · Effective on publication in the statute book; statute history shows July 1, 2023 — A county no longer has to keep a jail at the county seat; it must instead “provide jail services, at the expense of the county, for the safekeeping of prisoners lawfully committed” (19-1901). The sheriff must keep separate rooms “for each sex, female and male,” and “sex” now means “biological sex, either male or female, at birth” (19-1903). The Secretary for Aging and Disability Services must reimburse counties $100 a day, paid quarterly, for people held in jail awaiting competency examination, evaluation, or treatment. — **For corrections staff:** Jails must house people by sex at birth, and counties can bill the State $100 a day for detainees awaiting competency services. — [SB 228 enrolled](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2023_24/bills/download/?apn=b2023_24/year2/ready_for_publication/sb_228/sb228_enrolled.pdf)[K.S.A. 19-1903](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/laws/019_000_0000_chapter/019_019_0000_article/019_019_0003_section/019_019_0003_k/)
- Jul 1, 2023 — **An agency head’s designee may seek court-ordered disease testing after an officer’s exposure** — HB 2015 (2023), amending K.S.A. 65-6008 · Effective on publication in the statute book, July 1, 2023 (computed) — When a corrections officer, emergency services employee, law enforcement employee, or juvenile correctional facility staff member is exposed on duty to another person’s body fluids, “the head of the employing agency or entity, or the agency or entity head’s designee, may make application to a court” for an order requiring that person to be tested for infectious disease. KLRD describes the designee option as the change. The person must have refused voluntary testing unless exigent circumstances apply. A negative result triggers a retest after six months, and results go to the court, the employee, and the person tested. — **For corrections staff:** After a spit, bite, or blood exposure, a supervisor designated by the warden or sheriff can apply for a testing order. — [HB 2015 enrolled](https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2023_24/bills/download/?apn=b2023_24/year2/ready_for_publication/hb_2015/hb2015_enrolled.pdf)[KLRD 2023 Summary of Legislation](https://klrd.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2023-Summary-of-Legislation.pdf)

## Enacted, not yet in force, pending, and bills that did not pass

- **Release documents for inmates (HB 2653, 2026):** approved April 9, 2026; requires the Secretary of Corrections to help inmates obtain a birth certificate, Social Security card, and state ID within nine months before release and to give them work, training, and education records. It takes effect on publication in the Kansas Register; the publication date could not be confirmed, so this page does not say it is in force.

These bills were not enacted: HB 2008 (2025 to 2026, adding certain juvenile corrections officer positions to the KPERS correctional employees group; died in committee April 10, 2026) and HB 2681 (2026, a KDOC peer support fund; died in committee April 10, 2026). [Actions report](https://kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/bills/download/?apn=b2025_26/recent_docs/actions_and_subject_index_report.pdf)

## Checked and unchanged

- K.S.A. 74-5616 (KSCPOST discipline grounds): last amended in 2015, per the Officer Ledger page.
- 2025 session: screened only through the KLRD 2025 Summary of Legislation, whose corrections entries concern appropriations, including funding for entry-level correctional officer pay differentials at Lansing Correctional Facility (SB 125).
- Not verified: training and certification standards for court services officers and community corrections officers. The prior text of the statutes amended by SB 228 and HB 2015 (2023) was not compared directly; the changes described rely on the enrolled text and KLRD.