Skip to main content

KASB Legislative Update, April 26


Posted Date: 04/26/2023

KASB Legislative Update, April 26

Republican legislators on the education conference committee on Wednesday continued pushing for vouchers in a bill that also includes a one-year increase of $72 million in special education funding.

The conference committee produced two bills — HB 2089 and SB 113.

HB 2089 would provide $5,000 annual vouchers to eligible students attending private or home schools. It would also provide a one-time award of $1,000 to eligible public school students.  

Eligible students would come from families earning 250 percent of the federal poverty level or less. The private school vouchers would be limited to the 10 most populous counties, which includes about two-thirds of the population of Kansas. The bill would use federal funds to provide for a one-time $72 million increase in special education.

SB 113 would provide the base funding amount for special education of $520 million and a $7.5 million increase. The committee removed a provision that was inserted during the regular session that would have frozen BASE aid and could have led to a cut in public school funding.

KASB encourages legislators to reject both measures. The $5,000 vouchers in HB 2089 would go to unregulated schools with no oversight on how those students are doing.  

While KASB appreciates the removal of the BASE aid freeze, SB 113 also expands the current tuition tax credit program for private schools, including unaccredited schools. The measure also contains an unnecessary parent portal since districts already make curriculum available to parents.

The bills will probably be voted on either today, tomorrow or later in the week. Please contact your representatives and urge a “No” vote. KASB and other education advocates support funding K-12 as agreed to under the Gannon legal settlement, a multi-year phased-in increase for special education to get funding levels up to what is prescribed in state law, and rejection of voucher proposals, which will harm Kansas students and taxpayers.  

KASB also encourages advocates to contact legislators to sustain two vetoes by Gov. Laura Kelly. HB 2138 requires school districts to separate students by their biological sex for overnight accommodations on school trips. It also would provide for an administrative review by the State Board of Education of local school boards’ decisions to close a school building. HB 2236 would require school districts to adopt policies that guarantee that parents can remove their child from a lesson or class based upon objections to the course material. KASB believes these issues are best handled at the local level without a state mandate.

For a video review of the conference committee bills, go to this link.