Committee on Education adds preschool to military early-enrollment bill; KSDE outlines funding complexities

The Committee on Education voted to amend House Bill 02/2002 to include preschool programs in the list of classes for which military families may request early enrollment, and then recommended the bill favorably as amended.

The amendment was introduced by Representative Stogstill and seconded by Representative Ruiz; the committee approved the change by voice vote. After discussion, the committee voted to report the bill favorably and to allow the reviser to make technical changes. The committee also voted to report House Bill 2,033 (an item adding MSLAC-accredited organizations to an at‑risk list) favorably.

Why it matters: the change will allow military children who qualify for a district’s public preschool program — including programs funded through special education (IEP), at‑risk, or the state pre‑K pilot — to enroll before a family establishes state residency if the child provides evidence of an incoming military assignment and the program has an open seat.

Deputy Commissioner Frank Harwood of the Kansas State Department of Education told the committee that preschool funding is “all over the board,” with several distinct funding streams that only partially overlap. He said public schools are required to provide preschool services for children with disabilities (three- and four-year-olds with IEPs) and that state funding…