Republican lawmakers saw a negotiated school choice proposal fail early Friday morning in the Kansas Senate amid staunch opposition from public education advocates, while the fate of an education budget that districts say will cost them hundreds of millions of dollars remains in question.
School districts criticized the choice proposal, Senate Bill 83, which would also have included the first year of Governor Laura Kelly’s plan to increase funding for private education, as school vouchers. Supporters argued that it was a way to help low-income students and give parents greater educational freedom.
The Senate has killed similar proposals in the past, most notably in the dramatic 2021 vote. But lawmakers were optimistic they would have a different outcome this year, even though Kelly’s veto was hard to handle.
It comes along with a three-fiscal three-year education spending scheme, which has met equally fierce opposition amid concerns that it could violate the court-approved funding plan for Kansas schools. Lawmakers adjourned the session early Friday morning without considering the measure, leaving it to their return to Topeka in late April.
School groups point to numbers from the Kansas State Department of Education that claim the plan in Senate Bill 113 will cost districts $215 million in the 2024-25 school year.
Senate President Ty Masterson, R. Andover, told reporters he believes his party supports school choice and hasn’t ruled out trying a similar policy before lawmakers adjourn for good.
“The Republican caucus wants to choose the school, and the Democrats don’t,” Masterson said. “And in a democracy, it’s hard to get a supermajority on anything really. So, try again.”
Public schools and their allies viewed the bills as absolutely outrageous.
“We stirred up all this drama and outrage,” said Leah Flitter, a lobbyist for the Kansas Federation of School Boards. “And so, I’m not really sure of the end game here other than to have people take bad votes and spend a lot of time bashing public schools.”
School selection was a Republican priority nationally but it still fell short in Kansas
School choice policies have been a priority for Republicans nationwide this year. In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a bill to create Education Savings Accounts, which allow private school students access to public dollars to pay tuition and other expenses.
A similar proposal was considered in the Kansas House, and the room narrowly passed after contentious debate.
more:With the Republicans divided, the major school choice bill narrowly passed the Kansas House
Those concerns have been echoed with SB 83, which public school advocates say is a modified version of the ESA proposal. Twenty House Republicans crossed party lines to oppose the bill, many of them from rural areas.
In the Senate, the measure failed by 17 to 20 votes. Democrats immediately invoked a procedural move to avoid reconsideration at a later time.
Many Republicans have argued that the plan mirrors a program proposed by the Kelly administration in 2021 to provide grants to low-income students to help offset learning losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. That program only started earlier this year after a delay of about a year and a half.
Rep. Christy Williams, R. Augusta, chair of the House Education Budget Committee, emphasized that public schools will “always be the first choice” for well-educated students. But it reversed previous arguments from governors who have criticized test scores in the Kansas public school system.
Speaking to reporters, she said she still envisions a way forward with the school selection procedure.
“I think kids in Kansas need a chance to experience something different and get the best education possible,” said Williams.
The Kansas Education Enrichment Program has two components. One would be a one-time $1,000 grant to both public and private school students, largely mirroring the criteria of Kelly’s proposal.
more:Kansas program to give $1,000 to some families to combat learning loss. Here’s how to apply
The other will be the program only for private school students, which will provide funding of about $4,600 per student.
Families making up to 250% of the federal poverty line will be covered; For a family of four that would come to $66,250 per year. Eligible expenses include not only tuition fees at a Qualified Education Service Provider, but also tutoring services, textbooks, and even musical instruments.
“Voucher billing is irresponsible fiscal policy that allocates tax dollars to private entities that are, as we have seen, unregulated,” said Mary Lynn Boskin, D-Leawood. “…is there accountability for tax money? That’s our number one job here, to be good financial stewards of taxpayer money.”
SB 113 will also expand a program that provides income tax credits for donations from individuals and corporations to fund scholarships for private schools. This action will increase the credit to 75% of the donation.
more:Kansas school vouchers, educational savings account, and tax credits explained
according to 2,478 Kansas State Department of Education students benefited from the tax credit award program in 2022, with the students coming from 94 school districts across the state, though most hail from Wichita, Kansas City and Topeka.
The Kansas legislature pairs politics with money in the $6.4 billion public schools budget
Meanwhile, lawmakers left town before dealing with a $6.4 billion budget for K-12 education, which maintains historic funding levels for schools, albeit with a side dose of controversial policy provisions.
First and foremost, the possibility of freezing the amount of basic funding per pupil for future years, unless the legislature makes a decision to raise it.
The districts say the ruling will cost them hundreds of millions of dollars in the 2024-25 school year, according to KSDE data, including an $11 million hit for Shawnee County’s five counties.
Sen. Molly Baumgardner, R-Lewisburg, said the legislature would be able to review the funding amounts each year and that the affected years were beyond what was covered in the 2019 education spending plan approved by the Kansas Supreme Court after years of litigation.
“I don’t know why there would be a panic because more money is going to schools than ever before,” Baumgardner said.
But the schools maintain that the language runs counter to instructions in the Supreme Court ruling that requires lawmakers to continue spending on education in line with the rate of inflation.
Williams said the absence of lawmakers in the Senate meant the vote would have been tried, but he said they had the needed support in the Kansas House.
The budget also includes a provision requiring districts to create a portal, where parents can access information about texts, curriculum materials, and other items used in classrooms.
Private school and home school students will also be allowed to play on public school sports teams, something supporters believe will increase the options for these students to participate in sports, as some private schools do not have athletic programs.
more:Should homeschooled students have the right to play sports at Kansas High School?
Bill of Rights for Parents, Transgender Residence Bills Pass
Lawmakers also passed two other controversial education policy provisions, particularly a measure that allows parents to withdraw their students from lessons or classrooms if the activity is not on the curriculum or violates their sincere beliefs.
House Bill 2236 is the latest iteration of the so-called Parental Rights Act, though it’s scaled back compared to legislation introduced last year that Kelly rejected.
more:Parents can object to some classroom materials under Kansas law. Previous efforts have been reversed
The measure would also require local school districts to develop policies to ensure that parents have “the right to direct the education, education, and moral or religious training of such a child.”
The bill alarmed Democrats and even some Republicans, eight of whom crossed party lines to oppose the legislation. Rep. Bill Clifford, R-Garden City, said the issue was not a factor in his district.
“If you don’t like your school board’s policies, vote,” he said.
Lawmakers also passed a requirement that school districts segregate students by their biological sex for housing assignments on school trips, in response to a 2021 incident in Northeast Kansas.
more:Bill may force KSHSAA to allow local broadcasters to televise the Kansas high school playoffs
This bill also included provisions on allowing local broadcasters to broadcast the school’s regular and post-season activities and the state board of education’s review of local school board decisions to permanently close the school building.