The last day non-exempt committees can request bill drafts from the Kansas Office of Revisors of Statutes was Monday, Feb. 3. This is the last day requests for introduction or sponsorship can be on non-exempt committee agendas. The last day for individuals to introduce bills in their originating chamber was Wednesday, Feb. 5. Several bills were introduced in both House and Senate chambers. 
 

Bill tracker 

The following education-related bills were introduced this week:  

• HB 2176: 
  • Requiring the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) to establish a school classification system based on student attendance and a multiplier factor that adjusts certain schools' student attendance. 
    • Referred to the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2185: 
  • Updating the Kansas National Guard Educational Assistance Act to include dependents of national guard members and the Kansas National Guard Educational Master's for Enhanced Readiness and Global Excellence (EMERGE) program to include other advanced degrees. 
    • A hearing for this bill was held Thursday, Feb. 6, in the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2186: 
  • Requiring school districts to prohibit the use of privately owned electronic communication devices during school hours and to prohibit students from using school district computers or devices to access social media platforms. 
    • Referred to the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2203: 
  • Including children with fetal alcohol syndrome disorder under the definition of other health impairment in the special education for exceptional children act. 
    • Referred to the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2259: 
  • Requiring school districts to adopt policies to limit the use of personal electronic communication devices during school hours and requiring the state board of education to designate a period of time for social media awareness and develop goals and materials relating thereto. 
    • Referred to the House Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 114: 
  • Authorizing nonpublic and virtual school students to participate in ancillary public school activities and making it unlawful for the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) and school districts to discriminate against such students based on enrollment status. 
    • A hearing for this bill is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 123: 
  • Providing state general funds for school meals programs and prohibiting local boards from collecting money for such meals. 
    • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 134: 
  • Authorizing school districts to request and receive an applicant teacher’s employment files from another school district if such teacher was previously employed by such other school district and establishing which school district is responsible for and the custodian of teacher employment files that are records under the Kansas Open Records Act. 
    • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 140: 
  • Requiring school districts to provide certain information on school district annual budget forms. 
    • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 142: 
  • Authorizing each school district to include a teacher representative as a nonvoting member of such district's board of education. 
    • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 154: 
  • Requiring school districts to prohibit the use of privately owned electronic communication devices during school hours and students from using school district computers or devices to access social media platforms. 
    • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 159: 
  • Requiring school district budget forms and summaries to include all expenditures of bond proceeds. 
    • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 162: 
  • Requiring certain school district employees to receive training in seizure recognition and related first aid. 
    • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 163: 
  • Prohibiting school employment contracts from excluding documentation of disciplinary actions or behavioral corrective actions taken with regard to an employee. 
    • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 164: 
  • Prohibiting discriminatory practices on the basis of religion at public educational institutions and authorizing the attorney general to investigate violations and assess civil penalties under the Kansas act against discrimination. 
    • Referred to the House Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 165: 
  • Requiring school district bond elections and other tax levy question submitted elections be held only on primary or general election dates and only permitting one such bond election to be conducted each calendar year. 
    • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

Other bills KSDE is tracking: 

• HB 2033: 
  • Including programs and services provided by nonprofit organizations accredited by the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council as approved at-risk educational programs. 
    • The House Committee on Education held a hearing for this bill Monday, Feb. 3. 

 

• HB 2034:  
  • Authorizing school districts to employ chaplains or accept chaplains as volunteers to provide support, services and programs for students. 
  • Prohibiting certain persons from serving as chaplain. 
    • Referred to the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2067:  
  • Establishing a feminine hygiene product grant program and grant fund to award monies to qualifying Title I schools to provide feminine hygiene products to students at no cost. 
    • Referred to the House Committee on Taxation. 

 

• HB 2102: 
  • Providing for the advanced enrollment of military students whose parent/guardian will be stationed in Kansas. 
    • A hearing for this bill was held in the House Committee on Education on Tuesday, Feb. 4. 

 

• HB 2103: 
  • Including participation in certain learning experiences and agricultural activities as a valid excuse for absence from school, and authorizing school boards to make rules therefore. 
    • The House Committee on Education held a hearing for this bill Monday, Feb. 3. 

 

• HB 2104: 
  • Standardizing firearm safety programs in school districts. 
    • A hearing for this bill was held in the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs on Thursday, Feb. 6. 

 

• HB 2129: 
  • Transferring teachers from KPERS 3 to KPERS 2 and defining teachers for purposes of KPERS. 
    • A hearing for this bill was held Wednesday, Feb. 5, in the House Committee on Financial Institutions and Pensions. 

 

• HB 2136: 
  • Expanding student eligibility under the tax credit for low-income students scholarship program; increasing the amount of the tax credit for contributions made pursuant to such program; and providing for aggregate tax credit limit increases under certain conditions. 
    • A hearing for this bill was held in the House Committee on Education on Wednesday, Feb. 5. 

 

• HB 2137: 
  • Authorizing the Kansas State Department of Education to contract with a private vendor to install, operate and maintain school bus cameras. 
    • Referred to House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2138:  
  • Authorizing school districts to levy an annual tax levy of up to 2 mills for the purposes of school building safety, security and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and including such levy in the capital outlay state aid determination for such school districts. 
    • Referred to House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2139: 
  • Increasing the minimum expenditure amount for school districts for contracted goods and services without requiring sealed bids and the minimum expenditure amount for goods and services that the district superintendent may acquire on behalf of the district. 
    • Referred to the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2140: 
  • Creating the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) educator position. 
    • A hearing for this bill was held Thursday, Feb. 6, in the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2141: 
  • Requiring school districts to offer parents the opportunity to object to educational materials and activities that are not included in approved curriculum or standards, or that impair a parent’s beliefs, values or principles. 
    • Referred to the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2142: 
  • Requiring each school district adopt an independent review process as part of such district’s policies prohibiting and preventing bullying. 
    • Referred to the House Committee on Education. 

 

• HB 2156: 
  • Establishing the education opportunity tax credit to provide an income tax credit for taxpayers with eligible dependent children who are not enrolled in public school. 
    • Referred to the House Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 45:  
  • Excluding students who transfer to homeschooling or nonaccredited private schools from the alternative calculation of graduation rates for virtual schools. 
    • A hearing for this bill is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 47:  
  • Requiring school districts to publicly list the names and email addresses of current board members; authorizing local school board members to add new agenda items to board meeting discussions, ask questions or engage in discussion with members of the public during meetings and access school property; and the public may address the school board at meetings. 
    • A hearing for this bill is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 11, in the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 48:  
  • Requiring school districts to demonstrate improvement in academic performance and be in compliance with federal and state statutes and rules and regulations to achieve or maintain accreditation. 
    • A hearing for this bill is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 7 in the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 49:  
  • Requiring attendance center needs assessments to be conducted by the board and include input from board members, teachers, school site councils and administrators and that board members receive certain state assessment data and identify allocations of money in the district budget/summary. 
    • Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. 

    • A hearing for this bill is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 6. 

 

• SB 75:  
  • Establishing the education opportunity tax credit to provide an income tax credit for taxpayers with eligible dependent children who are not enrolled in public school. 
    • A hearing for this bill was held on Tuesday, Jan. 28 (see below).

 

• SB 76: 
  • Requiring employees to use the name and pronouns consistent with a student’s biological sex and birth certificate; and authorizing a cause of action for violations therefor. 
    • A hearing for this bill is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 10, in the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

• SB 87: 
  • Expanding student eligibility under the tax credit for low income students scholarship program; increasing the amount of the tax credit for contributions made pursuant to such program; and providing for aggregate tax credit limit increases under certain conditions. 
    • A hearing for this bill was held Thursday, Feb. 6, in the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

 

Education Funding Task Force 

The Education Funding Task Force, made up of 11 voting members and four ex-officio nonvoting members, held its first meeting on Friday, Jan. 31.  

The task force is charged with the following: 

• Reviewing the current school finance system, the current methods for determining and dispersing special education state aid, the inputs of the current school finance system, the outputs of the funding system, the academic achievement reporting requirements that are built into current law, the achievement goals that are established by the Kansas State Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education. 
• Required to submit a report to the Kansas legislature and governor on or before Jan. 11, 2027. The report has to include recommendations regarding the establishment of a new school finance formula. Goals of the report include the following: 
• The formula shall be reasonably calculated to have all students meet or exceed the rose capacities. 
• The formula shall provide adequate, consistent and reliable funding. 
• The formula shall provide meaningful accountability measures. 

 

Hearing on HB 2103 

The House Committee on Education held a hearing for House Bill 2103 on Monday, Feb. 3. 

Under current law, a local board of education is required to adopt rules for determination of a valid excuse for absence from school and the determination of what constitutes a “significant part of a school day.” 

HB 2103, if passed, would include participation in certain learning experiences and agricultural activities as a valid excuse for absence from school. The local school board may limit the number of absences that may be approved as a valid excuse through rules adopted by the board. It would go into effect for the 2025-2026 school year. 

To read more about HB 2103, click here. 

 

Hearing on HB 2033 

On Monday, Feb. 3, the House Committee on Education heard support and opposition to House Bill 2033. 

Current law requires the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) to approve and provide a list of at-risk educational programs that provide best practices and evidence-based instruction to students for at-risk programs for school districts. 

HB 2033, if passed, would add any nonprofit organization that is accredited by the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council to a list of approved programs required by statute to be approved by KSDE. 

To read more about HB 2033, click here. 

 

Hearing on HB 2102 

The House Committee on Education on Tuesday, Feb. 4, heard support for House Bill 2102. 

If passed, HB 2102 would change current law regarding military students in school districts. It would allow a military student, who provides evidence that the student’s parent or person acting as a parent, would be stationed at a military installation in Kansas during the current or succeeding school year to enroll in a school district. 

Military students are currently defined under the education statutes under 72-5139 as a person who is a dependent of a full-time active duty member of the military service or a dependent of a member of any of the United States military reserve forces who has been ordered to active duty under federal law, or ordered to full-time active duty for a period of more than 30 consecutive days under a different federal statute for purposes of mobilizing for war, international peacekeeping missions, national emergency, or homeland defense activity.  

If passed, HB 2102 would go into effect July 1, effective for the 2025-26 school year.  

 

Coming up 

The Senate is adjourned until 9 a.m., on Friday, Feb. 7. The House is adjourned until 11 a.m., on Friday, Feb. 7.  

The last day for non-exempt committees to introduce bills in their originating chamber is Friday, Feb. 7. 

Click here to see calendars and journals of the House and Senate, and agendas for committees. Click here for other useful links and information from KSDE.