Photo provided by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World
The Kansas State Capitol in Topeka on December 20, 2023.
TOPEKA — Kansas state senators are ignoring warnings from public school advocates that the bill's special education provisions could have dire consequences for schools that will guide state education funding for the next three years. The Finance Bill was abolished.
Senate Bill 387 allocates billions of dollars to K-12 schools, but also includes provisions that public school advocates warn will result in “permanent underfunding of K-12 schools.” It was included.
The bill would overhaul the state's special education funding formula and use local dollars as part of the calculation. Public education advocacy groups, including the Kansas State Board of Education and the Kansas National Association of Educators, opposed the proposed formula, saying it hides the state's lack of funding for special education. In a joint statement, the two organizations said the calculation was “a series of accounting tricks.”
U.S. Republican Rep. David Younger opposed the bill Thursday, saying, “It's not new money.” “It's money coming in that's supposed to be there. Counting local option budgets is not new money. It's local money. And I think my theory is that this is voodoo math. I support this claim.”
Currently, the special education formula considers the cost of providing services, the cost of regular education, and federal aid to determine each school district's state special education aid. The proposed formula would use factors such as Medicaid, state hospital funding and district-level budgets to determine special education aid.
Some warned that the state cannot afford to further underfund special education. Special education funding goes toward the educational needs of gifted and disabled students in Kansas' public schools.
The law requires state funds to cover 92% of the additional costs of serving K-12 special education students across the state, but the state has not passed this requirement since 2011. Not satisfied. Currently, the state pays about 69% of local school district spending.
Kansas schools are supposed to cover other costs, but that burden is becoming increasingly difficult as the number of Kansas students receiving special education services continues to grow. Approximately 18% of Kansas students received special education services during the 2022-2023 school year.
Rep. Christy Williams, R-Augusta, whose job is to create education policy, refuted those claims. Williams is well known for pushing for private school vouchers, arguing that some kids need religion before math.
“That's a responsible answer,” Williams said of SB387. “This is a transparent and responsible answer in the changes we have made and the accountability we have included.
Hours after House members passed the bill by a narrow 65-58 vote, senators voted 12-26 against it in a vote late Thursday night.
Sen. Chase Blasi, a Wichita Republican, said he could not support the bill because of local opposition.
“I cannot support major changes to K-12 funding when there is universal opposition back home,” Blasi said.
Parliament is expected to adjourn for three weeks starting Friday, creating a sense of urgency as lawmakers rush to approve policies before adjourning. If no new education bill is introduced by Friday night, lawmakers will adjourn without developing a blueprint for the education budget.
— Kansas Reflector's Rachel Mipro reports.
