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Jan. 31, 2018TOPEKA, Kan. |  By: AP

Some of new Kansas governor's goals set by court mandate

Incoming Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer faces a court mandate on funding public schools and problems in state prisons, mental hospitals and the state's child foster care system as he takes office.

Colyer also could face a push to expand the state's Medicaid health coverage for poor families and must navigate difficult political currents in seeking a full, four-year term next year. The Republican is being elevated from lieutenant governor because of departing Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's appointment by President Donald Trump as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in October that school funding is unconstitutionally inadequate. The state saw multiple disturbances in its prisons over the summer, and its foster care system is under increased scrutiny following high-profile child deaths.