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State education leaders want Kelly to veto House Bills 2039, 2089


Posted Date: 04/14/2021

State education leaders want Kelly to veto House Bills 2039, 2089

The State Board of Education wants Gov. Laura Kelly to veto two bills that board members say infringes on their authority in public school education.

The board, in a unanimous vote Wednesday, authorized Chairman Jim Porter and Vice Chairwoman Janet Waugh to meet with Kelly and provide her information on the constitutional and statutory authority of the State Board and local school boards and to ask her to consider that information when she considers HB 2039 and HB 2089.

HB 2039 would require students pass a civics test and financial literacy course to graduate high school. HB 2089 requires that if districts offer gun safety programs, they must use specific curriculum, including one offered by the NRA in grades K-5.

When considering the issue, Board Member Ann Mah, D-Topeka, asked why didn’t the board simply state that it wanted Kelly to veto those two bills. Porter, a Republican from Fredonia, replied, “It’s implied.”

Porter and several other board members said they didn’t oppose the policies contained in the bills but that under the Kansas Constitution, the State Board and local boards decide what are the best curriculum and graduation requirements.

HB 2039 was approved by the Senate 25-13 and House 72-51. HB 2089 was approved 31-7 in the Senate and 79-44 in the House. If the bills are vetoed by Kelly, supporters of the bills would need two-thirds majorities — 27 in the Senate and 84 in the House — to overturn the vetoes.

On Tuesday, the State Board received a survey that showed all districts, except one, are teaching financial literacy at the high school level. In addition, 47 percent of school districts require passing financial literacy to graduate, up from 26 percent in 2016, according to the report.

Under the bill approved by the Legislature, students would have to pass a course in personal financial literacy beginning in 2024-25 and a civics test in 2022-23.