Kansans exceed the national averages for educational attainment. In 2000, 86% of those age 25 and older were high school graduates, and 25.8% had obtained a bachelor's degree or higher.
In 1954, Kansas was the focal point of a US Supreme Court decision that had enormous implications for US public education. The court ruled, in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, that Topeka's "separate but equal" elementary schools for black and white students were inherently unequal, and it ordered the school system to integrate.
Total public school enrollment for fall 1999 stood at 472,188. Of these, 325,818 attended schools from kindergarten through grade eight, and 146,370 attended high school. Minority students made up approximately 22% of the total enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools in 2001. Total enrollment was estimated at 469,747 in fall 2000 and drop to 462,000 by fall 2005. During 1999/2000, Kansas spent $6,112 per pupil in public school education. Expenditures for public education in 2000/01 were estimated at $3,189,301. Enrollment in nonpublic schools in fall 2001 was 43,113.
As of fall 2000, there were 176,453 students enrolled in institutions of higher education. In the same year Kansas had 59 degree-granting institutions. In 1997, minority students comprised 13.8% of total postsecondary enrollment. There are 6 state universities, 23 two-year community colleges, 5 private two-year colleges, 17 church-affiliated universities and four-year colleges, 12 vocational-technical schools, and 4 technical colleges (4 community colleges have vocational-technical divisions). In addition, Kansas has a state technical institute, a municipal university (Washburn University, Topeka), and an American Indian university. Kansas State University was the nation's first land-grant university. Washburn University and the University of Kansas have the state's two law schools. The oldest highereducation institution in Kansas is Highland Community College, which was chartered in 1857. The oldest four-year institution is Baker University, a United Methodist institution, which received its charter just three days after Highland's was issued. The Kansas Board of Regents offers scholarships and tuition grants to needy Kansas students.