photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, is pictured at the University of Kansas on Nov. 7, 2024.

Two Kansas lawmakers are requesting further input from Haskell Indian Nations University faculty and staff to better shape proposed legislation that would create new, independent governance for the school.

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann — both Republicans — announced in a joint press release they were seeking additional feedback from the school’s faculty and staff to ensure their perspectives were included in legislation that would give the school more autonomy while still providing federal funding.

Moran and Mann released an initial draft of the legislation in December 2024 and solicited feedback from Native American, Lawrence and higher education communities to craft the legislation. The “Haskell Indian Nations University Improvement Act,” which would transfer governance of the school from the Bureau of Indian Education — part of the larger U.S. Department of Interior — to the Haskell Board of Regents to run the school, was formally introduced in June 2025, as the Journal-World reported.

In a letter addressed to faculty and staff, Moran and Mann write their goal with the proposed legislation is to put Haskell on a more stable path for the future that better serves its students while addressing “longstanding operational and management challenges,” and aside from students at the school, “(faculty and staff) know Haskell best.”

Moran and Mann wrote that any Haskell employees, who hold civil servant positions in the federal government, wishing to share feedback should act consistently with agency policy and “any requirements governing official-capacity communications.” They added that employees could also share feedback in an “individual capacity” where they could remain anonymous.

The letter said that employees can share their feedback about the legislation by emailing feedback@moran.senate.gov. Moran and Mann said that input from faculty and staff is “essential” for making the best legislation for the future of Haskell.

“This firsthand experience is critical to getting this right,” Moran and Mann said.