Legislative Information

To keep our parents, students, staff, and patrons informed of issues regarding school finance, we have created this Legislative Information page.  It is important that we, as a community, continue to educate ourselves about the issues involved in funding education locally and statewide to ensure the best futures for our students.

Update on School Funding

February 12, 2018

The 2018 Kansas legislative session has begun, and as usual, we can expect the debate over school funding to be a primary focus of the Legislature. Unfortunately, and this is also not unusual for this Legislature, the debate over school funding will probably be delayed until the very last possible minute, minimizing the opportunities for public input, and increasing the likelihood that whatever is finally passed will be inadequate to support the educational needs of all Kansas children. 

In October, 2017, the Kansas Supreme Court again declared school funding in Kansas inadequate, while also noting that changes inserted into the new funding formula last Spring violated the equity requirements of the Kansas Constitution. The Kansas State Department of Education believes that it will take a little more than $800 million a year in additional money to reach the goals of the new Kansans Caninitiative, and a consensus seems to be forming in Topeka that at least an additional $600 million will be necessary to meet the adequacy requirement of Article VI of the Kansas Constitution.

The Kansas Supreme Court has set an April 30, 2018 deadline for the State to pass legislation to meet the adequacy requirements of the Constitution, and for both sides in the school funding case to prepare their briefs (arguments) for the court. Attorney General Derick Schmitt, who is responsible for arguing the state’s case in front of the court, told the Legislature that he needed to have legislation passed by March 1, in order to have time to adequately prepare briefs to support the state’s case. 

With that said, you might expect the Legislature to be hard at work, drafting legislation to meet the demands of the Constitution. If you did, you would be sadly disappointed. What the Legislature HAS done is to commission a study of school finance, to be completed by a researcher out of Texas. The scheduled completion date for that study is March 15, 2018. This will give the Legislature three weeks before the end of the regular session on April 6, 2018 to solve the school funding crisis. 

So, obviously, time will be a significant obstacle in the way of solving the school finance challenges in Kansas. Another will be Legislative leadership, which to this point has indicated no interest in providing additional money for schools, to meet the requirements of the constitution. The study they commissioned is expected to provide support for their arguments, since the researcher they hired has consistently come up with a relatively low number for funding, particularly for districts like KCK, who serve large numbers of At-Risk students. 

What most observers expect is that about a week before the April 6 end of the regular session, leadership will magically produce a school finance bill which, supported by the results of the “study” they commissioned, will provide a little additional money for schools, but nothing close to what the Supreme Court is expected to require to solve adequacy. Leadership will insist that, given the time remaining in the session, that this bill is the “only train leaving the station,” and they will push hard to force it through. Whether they will be able to muster the votes to succeed with that strategy remains to be seen, and may be somewhat dependent on the pressure they receive from supporters of public schools.

Unfortunately, this strategy will necessarily provoke a confrontation with the Supreme Court, and will increase the possibility that the Legislature will fail to come up with a constitutional funding formula. Without a constitutional funding formula, schools would be forced to shut down in early July.

Of course, much of this is speculation at this point, and we are in the early innings of what promises to be a very long game. We will continue to update you, and will let you know when it will be important to add your voice to the conversation, especially with the legislators who represent you. Meanwhile, keep focused on the work you are doing, because you are changing the lives of kids, and that is what we are all fighting for!

David A. Smith

Chief of Public Affairs

Latest Supreme Court decision, Gannon v. State of Kansas (re: adequacy) (PDF - 10/2/17)

KCKPS at the Capitol

Click below for copies of our testimony on state education bills.

Education Legislation and Our Testimony - 2015-16 School Year

Public Comment on Potential School Funding Changes in Response to the May 27, 2016, Gannon Order - Comment by David A. Smith (PDF copy - 6/23/16)

Public Comment on Public School Funding Changes in Response to the May 27, 2016, Gannon Order - Comment by David A. Smith (PDF copy - 6/16/16)

Ways and Means Committee Follow-Up from Dr. Cynthia Lane (PDF copy - 4/18/16)

HB 2740 (read the bill here) - Testimony from Dr. Cynthia Lane (PDF copy - 3/23/16)

SB 505 (read the bill here) - Testimony from David A. Smith (PDF copy -3/11/16)

SB 515 (read the bill here) - Testimony from Dr. Cynthia Lane (PDF copy -3/23/16)

Education Legislation and Our Testimony - 2014-15 School Year

HB 2170 (read the bill here) - Testimony from Bill Reardon (PDF copy - 3/11/15)

HB 2393 (read the bill here) - Testimony from Dr. Kelli Mather (PDF copy - 3/5/15)

HB 2403 (read the bill here) - Testimony from Dr. Cynthia Lane (PDF copy - 3/9/15)

SB 273 (read the bill here) - Testimony from Dr. Cynthia Lane (PDF copy - 3/10/15)

SB 294 (read the bill here) - Testimony from Dr. Cynthia Lane (PDF copy - 3/24/15)

Legislative Goals

Click the image below for a PDF Version of our legislative goals.

Wyandotte County Legislators:

Click on the legislator's name to open his/her webpage at www.kslegislature.org.

A complete list of legislators for the state of Kansas is available at www.kslegislature.org