Here is the status of major education legislation on Friday, April 1; the final day of the regular legislative session. These bills are expected to be considered by the full House and Senate later Friday. Please follow KASB Advocacy on social media for updates.
Conference Committees:
SB 2567 – Education Policy (Agreed to early Friday)
Contains funding proposed by the Governor for K-12 state aid and the Department of Education.
Full funding of Gannon plans and first year of CPI adjustment in 2022. KASB supports.
Full funding of equalization aid. KASB supports
Adds $7.5 million increase in special education, as per Gannon plan. KASB supports, would support more progress to 92% of excess cost.
Adds $3 million increase in school mental health team funding. KASB supports.
Adds $1.5 million for CTE transportation. KASB supports.
Adds $5 million safety grants. KASB supports.
Adds $100,000 for statewide dyslexia coordinator; requires districts to pay fees. KASB supports the position, not funding by a fee.
Requires State Board to select virtual math program of supplemental services at the secondary level with a possible opt-out for similar programs; cost of $5-6 million over two years, funded partially by SPARK money (state COVID aid) and partially from mandatory school district fees. KASB supports SPARK funding rather than fees; flexibility for districts to pick alternatives.
Ends the annual delayed final state aid payment in 2023, one year later than Governor proposed. KASB supports ending the delayed payment.
Increases per-pupil funding for virtual students. KASB took no position.
Contains all other provisions of HB 2512 as passed by the House and several other bills.
Provides new formula for virtual school funding for students under age 20 who have dropped out of high school; creates an alternative virtual school graduation rate and prohibits financial incentives for virtual school enrollment. KASB took no position.
Makes changes to require annual school budgeting needs assessment. KASB generally supports compromise language in the bill.
Adds a statement on academic achievement, required local board policies for learning literacy, and a new report on academic achievement. KASB took no position.
Creates a process for approval of alternative educational opportunities. KASB supports after the required State Board of Education approval was removed.
Requires school district enrollment of part-time students. KASB took no position.
Contains open enrollment provisions of SB 455 as passed by Senate, except uses a single transfer date and requires a public hearing for adopting of school board policy on nonresident students as passed by House in HB 2615. KASB opposes.
Contains changes to federal impact aid treatment. KASB took no position.
Changes bond and interest state aid calculation. KASB supports.
Makes changes to scholarship programs for dependents of the military, peace officers, and first responders. KASB has not seen the language.
Adds new language on the use of social/emotional surveys, questionnaires, exams. KASB took no position.
Adds language regarding programs allowed to be offered by postsecondary institutions in Johnson County. New issue; KASB took no position.
Adds amendments to Kansas Promise Scholarship Act (aid for students in CTE and two-year postsecondary programs). KASB supports.
Adds amendments to Kansas Promise Scholarship Act to allow students from Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Colorado to be eligible. KASB took no position.
Other conference committee reports agreed to Thursday
SB 160- Ban on transgender females on sports teams. KASB opposes legislation; believes should be governed by Kansas State High School Activities Association.
SB 58 - Parents Bill of Rights. Similar to the version passed by Senate in SB 496, without parents' portal, library material review and new restrictions on tests, exams, surveys, which were addressed in HB 2567. KASB was neutral on the Senate version.
Conference Committee Reports ADOPTED:
SB 62 – Vision Screening Update plus Deaf/Hard of Hearing Services. KASB supports vision screening update.
SB 62 would amend state standards for free school-administered vision screenings, establish the Kansas Children’s Vision Health and School Readiness Commission, authorize the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to adopt rules and regulations, establish a sign language interpreter registration process, and provide guidelines for communication access services.
SB 563 – State Senate and State Board of Education Redistricting. KASB took no position.
Sub. for SB 563 would redraw the State’s 40 Senate districts (map name: Liberty 3), 125 House of Representatives districts (map name: Free State 3F), and 10 State Board of Education (BOE) Districts (map name: Apple 7) using data obtained from the 2020 Census. [Note: BOE map Apple 7 is based on the districts contained in Senate map Liberty 3.]
SB 215 – Oversight of Driver Training Programs PLUS school district transportation networks. KASB took no position.
Transportation; authorizing the board of education of a school district to contract with transportation network companies to provide certain transportation services; specifying requirements therefor; transferring authority over driver's education programs operated by certain postsecondary institutions and driver training schools to the department of revenue; authorizing the department of revenue to promulgate rules and regulations therefor
SB 421 – KPERS payments. House passed. KASB supports reducing general fund payments to KPERS if benefits are not affected.
SB 421 would transfer $1.125 billion from the State General Fund (SGF) directly to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) Trust Fund. Of that amount, the first $253.9 million SGF would pay off outstanding accounts receivable for KPERS-School employer contributions withheld in FY 2017 and FY 2019 (“layering payments”) while the remaining $871.1 million SGF would be applied to the KPERS-School unfunded actuarial liability.
Conference Committee Reports AGREED:
HB 2466 – Computer science education (KASB supports) PLUS pilot CTE credential incentive program (KASB supports) PLUS amendment to student data privacy act for college tests such as ACT. KASB supports computer science provisions and CTE incentives.
Other conference committees:
Tax Committee
Issues: Residential exemption for 20 mills, teacher supply tax credit, revenue-neutral rate changes, overall state revenue.
Main Budget Committee
Issues: Increased teacher scholarship funding.
Judiciary Committee
Issues: Senate passed COVID restrictions on schools and other government; changes in vaccination policies.
Additional settings for Safari Browser.
