KANSAS CITY (KS)
KWCH-TV, CBS-12 [Wichita KS]
January 26, 2026
By Sophia Gernander
A bill that would make clergy mandatory reporters of child abuse is entering its fourth year in the Kansas Legislature after failing to pass the House three years in a row.
The legislation seeks to require ordained ministers or clergy to report suspected child abuse to authorities. Representative Tobias Schlingensiepen introduced the bill in 2023 following conversations with abuse survivors.
Joe Cheray, who says she was sexually abused by her grandfather between 1982 and 1987, testified in support of the bill on Monday before the House Judiciary Committee. Cheray was raised in the Catholic Church and told her priest about the abuse, but he was not a mandated reporter, so no one was told.
The abuse still affects Cheray today. She said she has PTSD, doesn’t trust many people and had a severe fear of public speaking until recently.
“I trusted religion completely,” Cheray said.
Under the proposed legislation, if an ordained minister is informed of sexual abuse, they would be mandated by law to tell authorities.
“I’m hoping this will protect future me’s since it didn’t protect me when I was a little kid,” Cheray said.
Bill includes exception for private confession
Advocates are getting frustrated with the struggle to pass the bill.
“I don’t know why anybody would not jump on board with this. This is really about protecting our children,” Schlingensiepen said.
On Monday the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from Cheray and others.
One objection to the bill concerns the safety of private confession, but Schlingensiepen said there is an exception for private confession written into the bill.
“People need to stop hiding behind that excuse, because it’s never been part of the bill,” Schlingensiepen said.
Cheray said the sooner the bill can be signed into law, the better.
“Let’s get this across the finish line in the house this year,” Cheray said.
The House Judiciary Committee’s next step is to vote on whether to move the bill out of committee, which would bring it to a vote on the House floor.