There is still no movement by House Leadership on the Flat Tax override; time is running out for the override to take place. There have been many bills heard this week, but here, I will highlight the ones that deal with education. Probably one of the worst bills that has made a hearing in Committee this session is HB 2738. On Tuesday, the House K-12 Education Committee heard this bill. The bill uses monies that districts receive in the Local Option Budget (LOB) to be counted toward Special Education funding. A run was sent out last week showing the amount districts would receive in SPED funding with what the Governor has recommended compared to what the impact would be if HB 2738 were adopted.
 

This is your classic Kansas Policy Institute piece of legislation. Dave Trabert of KPI was the only proponent and spent 35 minutes trying to explain the bill to the committee. This followed the Revisor spending 30 minutes on explanation of the bill. There were 8 opponents to the bill that offered oral testimony (we received 3 minutes to testify). There were an additional 90 opponents that provided written testimony! As stated above, this is a terrible bill that few people understand. The sole motive, in my opinion, is another attempt to take away funds from public schools. This is also a blatant violation of the Gannon settlement and would have the potential of inviting a lawsuit. I shared with the Committee that it was a coincidence that less than a week after the Kansas Supreme Court released the Gannon case jurisdiction this bill appeared. Time will tell if this bill will pass out of committee. Chair Williams has scheduled Monday and Tuesday of next week (2/19 & 2/20) to work bills to pass out of committee. In the meantime, I cannot stress enough that you contact your Representative and Senator to ask them to support schools. Also, remind them this is an election year.

Other bills heard in House Education include:

• HB 2641 - This bill would ban cell phones in schools.
• HB 2700 - This bill would establish a task force to develop a rating system for library books.
• HB 2709 - This bill would establish fentanyl poisoning awareness week.
   

Senate Education Committee heard:

• SB 437 - This bill would establish the Kansas Education Enrichment Program (KEEP) which would provide awards to elementary & secondary students for specific expenses.
• SB 465 - This bill would allow school districts to levy up to 2 mills of Capital Outlay for expenditures for student safety matters and ADA compliance. The bill was requested by USA Kansas. Many school district leaders have expressed the need to upgrade safety and security measures in their districts. The Legislature provides grants under the School Safety and Security Fund. Last year, $5 million was distributed to 188 districts. However, there were requests that totaled $14,377,259. No one wants to increase their Capital Outlay levy. However, if this bill were to pass, they would have that option. 

Looking ahead to next week, there are very few bill hearings scheduled. On Monday (2/19) and Tuesday (2/20), most committees will be working bills to determine whether or not they will pass out of Committee and onto the Floor for consideration. Please note that many bills that pass out of Committee are not brought ‘above the line’ (not heard by the entire body). Wednesday (2/21), Thursday (2/22), and Friday (2/23) lawmakers will spend a majority of their time in their respective chambers hearing and voting on bills. The end of next week will be the “Turnaround” deadline. “Turnaround” is the unofficial halfway point of the legislative session. This marks the deadline for the majority of bills to leave their chamber and move to the opposite chamber (i.e. a bill passes the House and moves to the Senate or vice versa).
 

I do not anticipate any school funding bills to be considered next week. These types of bills will be heard in the second half of the session and during the veto session. I continue to encourage you to reach out to your House Representative and Senator to let them know you are watching their votes and remind them it is an election year. Also, encourage your School Board members and teachers to contact their legislators. Please let me know if you have questions.