Kansas lawmakers continue discussions on school funding after dismissing proposal with questionable calculations

In a late-night session, Kansas senators rejected a school finance bill that would have set the course for state education funding over the next three years. The contentious issue at hand was a provision related to special education funding that drew strong opposition from public school advocates.

Senate Bill 387, which allocated billions for K-12 schools, proposed a new formula for calculating state special education aid that would have incorporated local dollars into the equation. This change raised concerns among advocates, who argued that it would result in underfunding special education in public schools.

Public education groups, including the Kansas Association of School Boards and the Kansas National Educators Association, decried the special education provision as a mere accounting gimmick that would obscure the lack of adequate state funding for special education.

Despite passing the House by a narrow margin, the bill failed in the Senate due to the opposition to the special education provision. Lawmakers expressed skepticism about the proposed formula, with Rep. David Younger calling it “voodoo math” and emphasizing that counting local option budget money as new funding was misleading.

Following the bill’s defeat, lawmakers are now tasked with revising the proposal in collaboration with their colleagues. Among other provisions, the bill includes the establishment of a task force to review the current school finance system and make recommendations for a new formula by 2027.

As negotiations continue, the future of education funding in Kansas remains uncertain, with stakeholders on both sides of the debate closely watching the developments in the state legislature.