Multiple education-related bills had hearings and recommendations on the budgets for the Kansas State Department of Education, the Kansas School for the Deaf and the Kansas State School for the Blind were discussed during week eight of the 2025 Kansas legislative session. 

The following bills have been passed out of their chamber of origin: 

Sub for HB 2007: Making and concerning supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2025, and appropriations for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 for KSDE and various state agencies. 

• Passed as amended in the House 83-36. A hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 10 through Thursday, March 13 in the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. 

 

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. 

• Passed in the House 89-32. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, March 11 in the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

HB 2069: Enacting the school psychologist licensure compact to provide interstate practice privileges for school psychologists. 

• Passed as amended in the House 119-0. A hearing was held Tuesday, March 4 in the Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare. The committee voted Wednesday, March 5 to add the contents of HB 2070, enacting the dietitian licensure compact, into this bill and voted to pass the bill out of committee as amended. 

 

Substitute for HB 2102: Providing for the advanced enrollment of military students whose parent/guardian will be stationed in Kansas; and correcting federal statutory citations in the interstate compact on education opportunity for military children. 

• Passed in the House 121-0. A hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 10, in the Senate Committee on Education. 

 

Substitute for SB 45: Requiring the Kansas State Board of Education to calculate graduation rates for all school districts for purposes of accreditation using an alternative calculation. 

• Passed in the Senate 32-8 and passed as amended in the House 86-36. It will now head to Gov. Laura Kelly’s desk.   

 

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. 

• Passed in the Senate 21-19. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, March 11 in the House Committee on Education. 

 

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. 

• Passed in the Senate 26-14. The House Committee on Education held a hearing on Tuesday, March 4, and the committee on Thursday, March 6, voted to recommend the bill be passed. It will now head to the House floor. 

 

SB 87: Expanding student eligibility under the tax credit for the 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. 

• Passed in the Senate 24-16. A hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 10, in 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. 

• Passed as amended 32-8. A hearing was held Wednesday, March 5, in the House Committee on Education and the committee on Thursday, March 6, voted to recommend the bill be passed. It will now head to the House floor. 

 
 

The following bills have been passed out of their committees:  

HB 2104: Standardizing firearm safety programs in school districts. 

• The House Committee on Federal and State Affairs voted to recommend the bill be passed. It was withdrawn from the House calendar and referred to the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs. 

 

HB 2299: 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. 

• The House Committee on Education voted to recommend the bill be passed as amended. It was withdrawn from the House calendar, referred to the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs, then rereferred to the House Committee on Education. 
   

HB 2382: Establishing the daily compensation rate for members of the state board of education in an amount that corresponds to the daily compensation rate of members of the legislature while in session. 

• The House Committee on K-12 Education Budget voted to recommend this bill be passed as amended. It was withdrawn from the House calendar on Tuesday, Feb. 25, and re-referred to the House Committee on K-12 Education Budget. The committee voted to recommend the bill be passed as amended and the House debated the bill on Thursday, March 5 and voted to recommend the bill be passed as amended. 

 

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. 

• The Senate Committee on Education voted to recommend this bill be passed as amended. It was withdrawn from the Senate calendar, referred to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, then put back on General Orders on the Senate calendar. 

 

SB 49: Requiring attendance center needs assessments to be conducted by the local board of education 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. 

• The Senate Committee on Education voted to recommend this bill be passed as amended. It was withdrawn from the Senate calendar, referred to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, then put back on General Orders on the Senate calendar.  

 

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. 

• The Senate Committee on Education voted on Thursday, Feb. 13, to recommend the bill be passed. It was withdrawn from the Senate Calendar and referred to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. 
   

 

Other bills KSDE is tracking: 

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. This bill is exempt and still alive. 

 

HB 2104: Standardizing firearm safety programs in school districts. 

• Passed by House Committee on Federal and State Affairs on Feb. 13. It was withdrawn from the House calendar and rereferred to the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs. This bill is exempt and still alive. 

 

HB 2330: Designating Nov. 14 of each year as Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day in the state of Kansas. 

• A motion to pass this bill out of the House Committee on Education failed. Since the bill was originally introduced by the House Committee on Appropriations, it is exempt and alive. 

 

SB 252: Expanding the tax credit for low income students scholarship program act to allow certain high school students and students eligible to be enrolled in certain school districts to be eligible for scholarships; increasing the tax credit for contributions made pursuant to such act and the aggregate tax credit limit; providing for aggregate tax credit limit increases under certain conditions; providing for program administration by the state treasurer. 

• Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. Since the bill was originally introduced by the Senate Committee on Assessment and Taxation, it is exempt and alive. 

 

SB 263: Establishing standards and requirements for active shooter drills conducted by public and accredited nonpublic elementary and secondary schools. 

• The Senate Committee on Education held a hearing for this bill on Thursday, Feb. 27. Since it was originally introduced by the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs, it is exempt and alive. 

 

SB 275: Requiring the inclusion of a human fetal development presentation as part of the curriculum for any course that addresses human growth, human development or human sexuality. 

• Referred to the Senate Committee on Education. Since the bill was originally introduced by the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs, it is exempt and alive. 

 

The following bill numbers are considered “dead”; however, their contents may appear in other bills:  

• 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. 
• 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. 
• HB 2129: Transferring teachers from KPERS 3 to KPERS 2 and defining teachers for the purposes of KPERS. 
• HB 2136: Expanding student eligibility under the tax credit for the 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. 
• HB 2137: Authorizing the Kansas State Department of Education to contract with a private vendor to install, operate and maintain school bus cameras. 
• HB 2138: Authorizing school districts to levy an annual tax levy of up to two 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. 
• 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.  
• HB 2140: Creating the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) educator position. 
• 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. 
• HB 2142: Requiring each school district adopt an independent review process as part of such district’s policies prohibiting and preventing bullying. 
• 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. 
• 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. 
• 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.  
• HB 2203: Including children with fetal alcohol syndrome disorder under the definition of other health impairment in the special education for exceptional children act.  
• 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. 
• HB 2295: Providing for reimbursements to local school boards for reduced price school meals; prohibiting local school boards from collecting money for such meals. 
• HB 2303: Enacting the longitudinal data act, establishing the division of longitudinal data in the legislative research department, authorizing the appointment of a director of the division by the legislative coordinating council and providing for the development and management of the Kansas longitudinal data system for the purpose of tracking and analyzing education, workforce and related data.  
• HB 2320: Authorizing children in the custody of the secretary of the Department for Children and Families to attend school in any school district, requiring records to be timely transferred between school districts and requiring a transportation plan if the child remains in the school of origin. 
• SB 123: Providing state general funds for school meals programs and prohibiting local boards from collecting money for such meals. 
• 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.  
• SB 140: Requiring school districts to provide certain information on school district annual budget forms. 
• SB 142: Authorizing each school district to include a teacher representative as a nonvoting member of such district's board of 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. 
• SB 159: Requiring school district budget forms and summaries to include all expenditures of bond proceeds. 
• SB 162: Requiring certain school district employees to receive training in seizure recognition and related first aid. 
• SB 163: Prohibiting school employment contracts from excluding documentation of disciplinary actions or behavioral corrective actions taken with regard to an employee. 
• 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. 
• 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. 
• SB 202: Defining teachers for purposes of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS); transferring teachers from the KPERS Act of 2015 to the KPERS Act of 2009. 

 

School Improvement/KESA 2.0 update 

On Monday, March 3, KSDE Deputy Commissioner Dr. Ben Proctor and Dr. Jay Scott, director of KSDE’s Accreditation and Design, provided an update to House Committee on Education members on KESA 2.0, the second iteration of the Kansas Education Systems Accreditation. 

Proctor provided a background on why KESA 2.0 was initiated. In an effort to solve the issue of doing so many things that are often disconnected from one another, Proctor said, KSDE’s Division of Learning Services developed a “Theory of Action” that is meant to clearly identify the actions KSDE and systems need to take to improve outcomes for our students. The Theory of Action is the following:  

“If we strengthen coherence across Kansas through focusing on a few high-leverage, fundamental actions, then our students will develop more knowledge and skills leading to greater opportunities and fewer limitations.” 

Those fundamental actions districts should account for in their KESA 2.0 action plans are structured literacy, balanced assessment, standards alignment and high-quality instruction. 

Scott walked committee members through the accreditation process, such as the areas and outcomes KSDE looks at, and the levels of accreditation (accredited, accredited with conditions, and not accredited).  

Each accreditation area (compliance, school improvement, outcomes) has: 

• A set standard to meet, 
• A measure to evaluate a school system’s performance, and 
• Supports to assist systems in meeting the standard. 
   

Each year, a school system’s District Leadership Team (DLT) will participate in a one-day collaboration on continuous school improvement with a small number of like-system district leadership teams. 

The purpose for these School Improvement Days is: 

• To establish a consistent collaboration with similar systems each year. 
• To share best practices on school improvement. 
• To gain feedback from peers on the system’s action plan. 

 

KSDE has hosted 55 School Improvement Days so far this school year. To date, 163 action plans have been submitted by systems. 

Monthly virtual office hours are also offered every month for systems to get feedback and ask questions about their action plans. The next one is scheduled for Wednesday, April 2. 

 

Implementation of At-Risk Provisions of House Sub. for SB 387 

Nine different bills were added into House Sub for SB 387 during the 2024 Kansas legislative session. One of those was HB 2650 that made amendments to at-risk education. 

Dr. Frank Harwood, Deputy Commissioner of Fiscal and Administrative Services, provided an update to members of the House Committee on K-12 Education Budget on Tuesday, March 4. 

The bill implemented a two-year pilot that required school districts to: 

• Establish an at-risk student accountability plan, including budgeting and expenditures. 
• Show academic improvement in certain student cohorts and students identified as eligible for at-risk programs. 

 

The Kansas State Board of Education at its October 2024 meeting approved 13 districts to participate in the pilot. Those districts are developing accountability plans they will implement during the 2025-2026 school year. The pilot districts were chosen to ensure diversity based on size, geographic location, student demographics and the level of training and staff implementation of structured literacy. All Kansas districts will have to submit their plans starting in the 2026-2027 school year. 

Each local school board must identify two cohorts of students, one must be third grade and the other must be any grade K-8. If possible, one of those cohorts needs to be free lunch students, with the other being some other qualifier KSDE breaks down state assessments by. 

To watch the full presentation, click here. For a more detailed explanation of the at-risk program, click here. 
 

Budget hearings 

The Senate Education Committee held hearings this week and discussed recommendations on the budgets for the Kansas State Department of Education, the Kansas School for the Deaf and the Kansas State School for the Blind.  

Each of those budgets are included in Sub for HB 2007. This budget bill contains adjustments for fiscal year 2025, funding for most state agencies for FY 2026, and selected adjustments for fiscal years 2027, 2028 and 2029. 

 

Coming up 

The House Committee on Education is scheduled next week to hold hearings on SB 87 and SB 47; take action on SB 44, SB 78, SB 87 and SB 47. Scheduled presentations include the Greenbush Service Center, postsecondary success and accreditation. 

The Senate Committee on Education is scheduled next week to hold hearings on HB 2102, HB 2185, HB 2033 and HB 2120; and take final action on bills previously heard. 

The House Committee on K-12 Education Budget is scheduled next week to hear presentations on the Greenbush Service Center and the Kansas Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund. 

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.