Senate education committee reviews 2024 education bills, task force and pilots ahead of finance rewrite

Matthew Willis, senior research analyst with Legislative Research, briefed the Kansas Senate Committee on Education on major education legislation enacted in the 2024 session and items the committee will track as it prepares for a required school funding formula update.

Willis summarized what he described as the largest education bill from the 2024 session, House Sub. for Senate Bill 387. "For fiscal year 25, the bill appropriated $6,600,000,000 including $4,900,000,000 of state general fund," Willis told the committee. He said the bill included regular school finance categories, capital payments, additional special education state aid funded with a mix of state general fund and some American Rescue Plan Act dollars, and a one‑year, $5,000,000 appropriation to support a public‑private partnership for childcare in northwest Kansas.

The analyst said the bill created an Education Funding Task Force that will work over the next several years on a new school finance formula and repealed authorization for a previous special education and related services funding task force. Willis also said the 2024 package adjusted the special education excess cost formula and required a voluntary pilot program working toward at‑risk accountability plans; committee discussion indicated that about 10 districts are participating in that pilot (department official John Hess provided the estimate).

Willis outlined other enacted bills the committee should track. He said Senate Bill 19 established an EMERGE scholarship program for National Guard members seeking graduate degrees and required school districts to adopt cardiac emergency response plans. Senate Bill 73 changed enrollment determination criteria for the school finance act to rely on current‑ or prior‑year enrollment rather than the second preceding year, with a one‑year bridge formula for 2024‑25. Senate Bill 438 established the Kansas blueprint for literacy, creating a literacy advisory committee under the Board of Regents and authorizing a director of literacy and reading centers of excellence.

Committee members asked logistical questions about the pilot and where to find reports. Willis and Tamara Lawrence deferred to Department of Education staff; John Hess told senators the at‑risk accountability pilot is voluntary and consists of about 10 districts. Senator Dinah Sykes asked about the literacy report due Jan. 1; staff said the committee has that report and will distribute it to members, including new senators.

Why it matters: the committee is beginning substantive work ahead of a July 1, 2027 deadline to adopt a new school funding formula. Members said they want to understand how recent changes to funding, enrollment counts and special education formulas will affect districts as the new formula is developed.

The committee will meet Thursday for a Legislative Research presentation titled "K‑12 by the numbers," focusing on outcomes and student achievement.