by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector
Topeka — Kansas legislators are inching closer to a compromise on an omnibus education bill to fully fund public schools and enact more than a dozen policy provisions, but a divide over special education funding remains.
Public schools in Kansas cover the costs of special education out of their operational budgets and apply for reimbursement from the amount the Legislature appropriates for that year. State law provides that Kansas should pay 92% of excess costs of special education, but there is no enforcement mechanism or penalty should the Legislature do otherwise.
Members of the education conference committee smoothing out differences in House and Senate positions are still at odds over a budget proposal to increase special education funding by $30 million. Proponents say this will help bring the state into compliance with state law.
But Sen. Renee Erickson, R-Wichita, echoed an uneasy sentiment expressed by Republican members toward appropriating more funds to Kansas’ special education students.
“I may sound like a broken record but It’s easy to spend money,” Erickson said. “My question Will and always will be how is that helping our students do better? That’s what I want to know if we give them additional money.”
Already set in House Bill 2567 is full funding of the Kansas State Department of Education budget, a scholarship program for community college students and a provision allowing open enrollment across school districts. The bill contains more than a dozen different policy provisions in addition.
Special education funding has been the subject of significant debate in the House, where last month members narrowly approved and subsequently removed an amendment to an education bill allocating $68 million in funding for these Kansas students.
Rep. Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican and chairwoman of the House K-12 Education Budget Committee, has led the charge against these additional funds, arguing the state is already meeting its legal requirements. While the nonpartisan legislative research department indicates the state is funding of special education close to 72%, Williams said her own estimates based on “raw figures” indicate Kansas is spending much more.
Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, scoffed at the idea raw figures and rough estimates showed an accurate or truthful estimate.
“I get the feeling the (Kansas K-12 Budget) House chair doesn’t understand the formula for funding our schools or just wants to ignore it for her own personal/extremist agenda to defund our schools,” Holscher said via Twitter, later adding that Williams “would be better served by holding up a sign that says ‘I hate public schools.’”
The Senate and House were able to come to an agreement earlier Wednesday to push the implementation date of a provision easing student transfers between school districts to the 2024-2025 school year. Previously, the measure required school districts to create a policy by January for enrollment capacity and allow open enrollment the following school year.
Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Louisburg Republican and chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, said the change came at the request of the governor’s office. She said public schools need to be open to this change if they want to flourish financially.
“We have roughly 16,000 fewer students now in our public schools than two years ago,” Baumgardner said. “If school districts are trying to recoup some money, they need to welcome students and parents that are wanting to make that move. The sooner that move occurs, the sooner they will receive that state funding for that child.”
The measure prohibits school districts from assessing special tuition for nonresident students, and a portion of educational funding would follow the student to the new district.
Representatives also accepted a senate offer to fund the KSDE dyslexia coordinator through the state general fund rather than fees for service.
The House and Senate delegations will meet later Wednesday to further iron out discrepancies regarding special education and other loose ends.
Setting the stage
Senators on the Ways and Means Committee set the stage early Tuesday for the education conference committee debate, choosing to move several Senate education budget items to the education mega bill.
Moved into the conversation on House Bill 2567 were the Gannon school funding plan, Gov. Kelly’s proposal to increase special education funding by $30 million and a KPERS cleanup budget item, along with a note affirming the Senate committee backs these provisions for conversation in conference.
While most committee members were able to get on board, Sen. Pat Pettey, D-Kansas City, Kansas, was uneasy about adding more provisions to a bill in a House-led negotiation.
“I don’t really understand why we would want to add anything more to a list of items that we haven’t dealt with anyway,” Pettey said during the meeting. “All of it, we can deal with it here.”
In the initial meeting of the education conference committee Tuesday, both chambers came to an agreement surrounding the Promise Scholarship Act.
The act provides students who enter certain high-demand fields scholarships for their community or technical college education. All recipients of these funds must work in Kansas for two years after they graduate.
The Senate and House butted heads over the act before the Legislature adjourned its regular session, and it was among the main reasons the education omnibus stalled momentarily.
A compromise proposed by the Senate and agreed upon by the House would reinstate a requirement that students be Kansas residents to qualify. House members proposed opening these scholarships to out-of-state students.
After receiving an email noting that recipients of these scholarships may lose their funding if the Board of Regents removes a Promise Scholarship-eligible program, legislators also agreed to patch up that issue.
“What this is simply indicating is if an institution is offering regents-approved programs and the regents take action to remove a program that a promise scholar still enrolled will continue to be a promise scholar,” Baumgardner said.
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See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/04/27/omnibus-education-policy-budget-bill-creeps-toward-finish-line-in-kansas-legislature/.